34 THE BOOK OF THE APPLE 



is not necessary. There are occasions when hardly 

 half a crop remains, either by reason of an untoward 

 spring that prevented the flowers from "setting," or 

 a wet autumn that did not allow the wood and 

 the buds an opportunity of ripening. In such cases 

 it is hardly necessary to state that thinning is not 

 required. There are, however, on the other hand, 

 seasons when there is a superabundance of fruit, and in 

 order to have, in the autumn, apples of the best size 

 and quality, a judicious thinning out must be resorted 

 to. Unless the crop is an unusually full one, it should 

 not be necessary wholly to remove any of the bunches, 

 but to take just a few fruits from each. It is impossible 

 to expect good fruit unless some are taken off when 

 one has a " heavy set." Even if they would swell to a 

 normal size they could not, as they are so closely 

 pressed against each other. The fruit at the apex of 

 the bunch should always be left, unless, of course, it 

 happens to be deformed or bruised, for it usually 

 develops into the best fruit. 



A judicious thinning of superfluous fruits is a feature 

 of apple cultivation that must not be overlooked. The 

 ultimate size of the fruits must be borne in mind when 

 thinning, for it would not, of course, be possible to 

 leave in a bunch so many of the larger growing sorts 

 as of the smaller varieties. It is unwise at any time to 

 burden an apple tree by allowing an unusually heavy 

 crop of fruits to ripen. Such a practice must to a 

 certain extent prevent a proper growth being made, 

 and if the tree fails to grow well even for one season, 

 it must adversely influence its fruit-bearing capacity for 

 some time to come. One often hears of apple trees por- 

 ducing heavy crops of fruit for several years in succession ; 

 and this may happen, without apparent harm immediately 

 resulting. The tree cannot, however, bear a heavy 

 strain upon it, as this undoubtedly would be, for several 



