The Canadian Horticultim^ 



Vol. XXXV 



JULY, 1912 



No. 7 



The Thinning of Fruit 



R. M. 



IT is only a lew years ago that any of 

 us first understood at all definitely 

 what was meant by "thinning fruit. ' 

 Now practically all commercial growers 

 instinctively think of the removal of some 

 of the fruits at an early stage in their 

 growth, to permit of the greater perfec- 

 tion of the rest. 



What was unheard of a few years ago 

 becomes widely talked of to-day, and is 

 the common practice of to-morrow. This 

 has been the history of spraying through- 

 out the apple districts, while pruning has 

 gone through a similar evolution, though 

 in a more irregular fashion. 



Thinning as a feature of orchard prac- 

 tice on a large scale was probably first 

 adopted in California, and was soon after 

 applied to apples and pears in the pro- 

 ducing districts of the Pacific Slope. It 

 is in these districts that high freight 

 rates and a long haul to markets has 

 made essential the production of the 

 greatest possible percentage of high- 

 class fruit. 



Only good fruit can be sold at a profit 

 in western packages and under transcon- 

 tinental freight rates, but the valuable 

 lesson was learned that care in all feat- 

 ures of production results, not in a mini- 

 mum of profit, but in a maximum of 

 profit ; in other words the high expendi- 

 ture per acre involved by intensive me- 

 thods produces not a lower profit per 

 box of fruit, but a higher one. The west 

 has taken this lesson to heart and the 

 changing market conditions are bring- 

 ing it home to the east as well. 



Winslow, Provincial Horticulturist, Victoria, 



The' British Columbia grower never 

 asks himself if thinning pays any more 

 than he asks whether pruning or cultiva- 

 tion produces a profit. About spraying, 

 especially in those districts where San 

 Jose Scale and the Codling Moth are 

 unknown, and where Apple Scab and 

 similar fungous diseases have never been 

 seen by the average orchardist, he does 

 raise a question, but the cost of pruning, 

 cultivation and thinning he does not 

 question any more than he questions the 

 box package or the wrapping of high- 

 class fruit. 



Until varieties of peaches, apples and 

 pears are produced that reach the com- 

 mercial standard of perfection without 

 pruning and thinning (and such varie- 

 ties are a long way off as yet), these prac- 

 tices, which go hand in hand, will con- 

 tinue to be two of the most important in 

 the orchardists' calendar. 



In the east a similar view of the matter 

 will in the near future obtain. Progre.s- 

 sive growers will experiment and their 

 results will shortly lead to the adoption 

 of thinning as a part of orthodox orchard 

 practice as it is now in the west. 



HOW MUCH FEUIT TO A TREE 



In discussing the questison of thinning 

 we admit that a tree may set more fruit 

 than it can possibly bring to perfection, 

 as the fruit grower understands perfec- 

 tion. Nature cares nothing for the fruit 

 except as an aid to produce seed ; the 

 orchardist cares nothing for seeds ex- 

 cept as they are necessary to the pro- 

 duction of fruit. We wish each tree to 



B.C. 



carry all the fruit it can bring to com- 

 mercial perfection, and no more. At the 

 same time the tree must make new vege- 

 tative growth consistent with its age and 

 the variety. The third requisite is that 

 it should also form enough fruit spurs 

 for a similar crop in the following year. 



When a tree is fulfilling these three 

 requirements, it is performing its maxi- 

 mum duty to the owner. If it falls short 

 in any of them he is not getting his 

 maximum of profit, either immediate or 

 prospective, from it. This ideal is the 

 foundation of our orchard practice. 



HOW DOES THINNING HELP? 



The removal of some of the fruit at an 

 early stage in its growth helps materially 

 towards securing the maximum duty of 

 the tree in certain definite ways : 



First, the average size of the fruit left 

 on the trees is increased ; this is the most 

 obvious result of thinning. Trees over- 

 burdened with fruit produce a greater 

 percentage of number two apples. The 

 increase in size of the remainder, after 

 the first or second pickings of Bartlett 

 pears is made, is a striking instance of 

 the increase in size when the number of 

 fruits is reduced. 



Second, the fruit borne is more uni- 

 form in size and shape. On the over- 

 loaded tree there is much variation in 

 size, and especially where two or more 

 fruits remain on a spur they are variable 

 in shape as well. The fruits from the 

 side blossoms of the cluster are in many 

 varieties much different from those from 

 the centre blossom, usually being flatter 



The Unveiling of a. Monument at Dundella, Ont., Dunda* County, in Honor of The Original Mcintosh Red Apple Tree 



A unique but noteworthy funotion took place at Dundela, Ont.. during June, when prominent farmers, eovernment olBciais and public men met to 



uuveil the monument shown in the illUHtration in honor of the original Mcintosh lied Apple Tree. The plate on the monument bears this 



inscription: "The Original Mcintosh Ked Apple Tree stood al>out 20 Rods North of This 8iK)t. It Was One of a Number of Seedlings 



Taken from the Border of tho Clearance and Transplanted by John Mcintosh in the year 1746. Erected by Popular Subscription 



1912." The occa.iion wa*i marked by a basket picnic followed by addrersee by speakers, who emphasized the importance to the 



country of the discovery of new varieties of grain or fruit of such recognized merit ae the Molntoeh Red Apple Tree. 



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