78 QUINCE CULTURE. 



The thinning of quinces should not be done till 

 we can judge pretty well which would fall of them- 

 selves ; and this generally shows quite well by the time 

 they are as large as a man's thumb. Whether this 

 natural thinning is the effect of insect stings, or of dry 

 weather reducing the moisture below a sufficiency, or of 

 a natural selection securing " the survival of the fittest," 

 is not always easy to determine. Besides all these reduc- 

 tions, it will often be best to remove many others from 

 very prolific trees. If, for any cause, thinning has been 

 delayed till the fruit is quite advanced, still it is best to 

 do it, and relieve the strain on the tree. By combining 

 with this thinning of the fruit a thorough cultivation 

 of the soil, a poor variety may excel a better one that is 

 neglected. This will be more especially observable in 

 young trees. They seem to be more easily affected than 

 when older. But even the old trees seem to be rejuve- 

 nated and show fruit improved beyond their possibilities 

 under neglect. 



It is hardly necessary to say that deformed and imper- 

 fect specimens are first to be removed, with any that 

 show signs of insect stings ; and that all wormy fruit 

 should be destroyed or placed where the worms will die. 

 Deep burial in the earth will generally kill them ; so will 

 fire or water. If taken as early as it ought to be, the 

 green fruit will have little value as food for any kind of 

 stock. 



CHAPTER XV. 

 GATHERING AND MARKETING. 



IF the trees have been properly pruned annually, it 

 will be a long time before they are too high to reach 

 the fruit from the ground. When, in time, the fruit is 



