304 Feach'Growing 



There is evidence, however, both experimental and prac- 

 tical that a space of 6 inches between individual fruits on trees 

 in good vigor is a safe standard. In actual thinning opera- 

 tions this distance, serving as a guide, may be varied as in- 

 dividual tree conditions require. The space of 6 inches 

 between fruits, it may be explained in order to prevent any 

 ambiguity, refers to the distance between fruits on the 

 straight terminal twigs which grew the previous season and 

 on which most of the fruit is grown. In case of varieties 

 that develop many short spur-like twigs, any rule as to dis- 

 tance between fruits necessarily must be adapted to meet 

 conditions. And again, when a single branch or one side 

 of a tree has a very light crop, or none at all, and the other 

 side has an overburden of fruit, as frequently happens, it is 

 reasonable to assume that the fruit on the heavily loaded 

 side need not be thinned quite as much as it would if the 

 opposite side also had a good crop. The compensation 

 between different parts of the top of a tree is partial but not 

 complete. The competition for plant-food is universal in 

 the top of a tree. The tree takes up fairly definite amounts 

 of water and plant-food. All leaf -buds and fruit-buds in 

 the normal course of development throughout their life- 

 course are competing with each other for plant-food. In 

 thinning, the competition is reduced, though the supply of 

 food material and moisture remains the same and goes into 

 the development to a higher degree of perfection of the 

 smaller number of fruits when thinning is done in com- 

 parison with the larger number when it is not done. 



