ABOUT THINNING PEACHES. 



1861. In 1878 the Canadian Horticulturist 

 was first issued as a magazine of 16 pages, 

 under the editorial charge of Mr. Beadle ; 

 and was by him most ably conducted until 

 the year 1SS7, when, upon his resignation, the 

 present secretary-editor was elected to the 

 position. 



Thus for twenty-six years Mr. Beadle was 

 Secretary of our Association, and his literary 

 ability, coupled with his practical knowledge 

 of nursery work in the raising of trees and 

 plants, made him well fitted to be a leading 

 spirit in horticultural circles. 



ABOUT THINNING PEACHES. 



~"\\ORTY cents per dozen was the 

 ^'^^^^ price of some large, well-col- 

 ored peaches we saw in a To- 

 ronto fruiterer's window, whilst a whole 

 basket of small ones was offered for 

 thirty cents, a striking object lesson on 

 the advantage of securing size and qual- 

 ity in fruit. In years of abundant 

 crops what a surplus of small peaches 

 we see, and how few are the fancy spe- 

 cimens which alone those who have the 

 money to pay fancy prices desire. Last 

 year the crop of the Niagara Peninsula 

 was enormous, yet a very small propor- 

 tion of the baskets marketed were of 

 such dessert fruit as the well-to-do citi- 

 zen of Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton or 

 Toronto would consider an addition to 

 that beauty and attractiveness of the 

 table, which he is quite willing to pay 

 for, and which in the case of floral de- 

 corations he actually gives very substan- 

 tial proof of his readiness to pay for. 

 The peach being the rightful monarch 

 of all dessert fruits, and being by its 

 native right, as it were, such a lovely, 

 attractive-looking object, it would seemi 

 that size and perfection were more essen- 

 tial in its case than with any other fruit. 

 Its possibilities being greater the buyer 

 expects more of it. The canning fac- 

 tories moreover desire an article that 

 will be able to compete with the Cali- 

 fornian product, and dislike being ob- 

 liged to put up a plethora of " pie fruit," 

 which brings only poor prices and is as 

 much trouble to put up as the best 



225 



fruit. The practice of thinning has be- 

 come part of the regular routine work 

 of the Californian fruit farms, as the 

 canning establishments will not accept 

 peaches under a certain size in some 

 cases 2^ inches being the required 

 diameter. 



If the trees form a large number of 

 fruits the grower has it all his own way, 

 and by bold yet judicious thinning, may 

 have his matured specimens any size 

 within reason he pleases. BoldneFS is 

 usually required to lead him to sacri- 

 fice enough of the growing crop to 

 make an appreciable difference, and it 

 often seems reckless to throw away 

 one-half or two thirds, or more, of what 

 is on the tree. Judgment must also 

 be used in the choice of the specimens 

 to be retained or removed, and in per- 

 forming the operation to obtain the best 

 results for the future welfare of the tree. 

 Among the principles that underlie the 

 practice of thinning, and the conclu- 

 sions readily deducible therefrom, the 

 following may be briefly noted : 



The forming of the pit is the chief 

 drain on the vitality of the tree in fruit- 

 bearing. It is therefore most essential 

 that thinning be done early if the 

 strength of the tree is to be reserved for 

 maturing the fruit. Could we win the 

 same triumphs with the peach as have 

 been gained in the case of the California 

 seedless Navel orange, or Sultana raisin, 

 and have a crop without stones at all, 

 the principle would have full play. But 



