36 FRUIT GARDEN COMPANION* 



ART. 6. On the Fruit. 



After what has been said of the buds and flow- 

 ers of trees, it will be proper to say something on 

 fruit, which bears the same affinity as regards being 

 supported in a healthy state from the tree, which 

 should be in good health or the fruit will be of an 

 inferior quality. In many cases we find trees to 

 flower freely and set their fruit, which afterwards 

 drops from the tree in different stages, owing to 

 many causes inimical to it. Fruit of tender kinds is 

 as often lost in its infant state by frost, as when in 

 flower ; and in most instances it may protected in the 

 same manner. A natural weakness in the tree is 

 sometimes the cause of fruit dropping from it ; 

 another cause is its being too luxuriant, as in the 

 case of young trees, which often make their shoots 

 so luxuriant as to impoverish the young fruit. In this 

 case it is evident that to counteract either difficulty, 

 the tree should by culture and management be kept 

 in a state that shall cause it to have a uniform 

 growth and health neither too weak or too luxuriant ; 

 this can be effected by the different processes re- 

 commended to be practised hereafter, as pruning, 

 manuring and working the soil. The thinning of 

 fruit is also essentially necessary, in order that when 

 it is too thick it may be so thinned as to grow to 

 and have its proper size and quality ; for an expla- 

 nation of this I refer the reader to its proper head. 



Many crops of fruit are lost when in a state of 

 growth by the drought, especially on dry soils, 

 which when deprived of moisture afford no nutri- 

 ment to the tree. In this case fruit often forms it- 

 self into a monstrous habit ; thus the plum swells to 



