68 THE BOOK OF THE PEACH. 



THINNING THE CROPS. 



Although this work requires to be done with a 

 bold hand, guided by practical experience as to the 

 size which certain varieties of the peach and nec- 

 tarine attain to under skilful and generous treatment, 

 it must not be done indiscriminately. The vigour 

 and size of each tree must be considered in deter- 

 mining the number of fruits which it shall carry 

 as a crop without in any way impairing its perma- 

 nent welfare. The thinning out of the fruit is 

 usually done at the same time as the last stage of 

 disbudding is being completed, and, like that opera- 

 tion, it is advisable to extend the process of thinning 

 the crop over a week, finally thinning out the fruit 

 to from nine to twelve inches apart every way on 

 the trellis, retaining, as a matter of course, the most 

 even-sized and best-placed fruits on the upper sur- 

 face (glass side) of the trees to form the crop. 

 Most growers defer the final thinning until the 

 fruits have completed the process of stoning, being 

 afraid to do so before in case some of the fruit left to 

 constitute the crop would drop off in the procedure 

 of stoning. As a matter of fact, this cautious 

 method of procedure is illogical, and well calculated 

 to bring about the very thing (dropping of the fruit) 

 it was meant to prevent, seeing that the energies of 

 the trees are needlessly and severely taxed in the 



