G64 CULTIVATION OF THE OKCUAKD AND GARDEN. 



er as to shut that out; besides, what the sun will do towards advanc- 

 ing the fruit to ripeness, it will also do towards giving it the color 

 which it ought to nave. But it is important to guard against hav- 

 ing the upper branches of the trees so wide apart as to afford no 

 protection against the severe winds and the hot rays of the sun dur- 

 ing midsummer. The winds will make the bark dry and brittle, and 

 the hot sun will scald and destroy it. Trimming, if looked after at 

 the proper time, and with regularity, as each season follows another, 

 will oe highly beneficial: the trees will continue in good form and 

 health; but disregard of proper business rules in fruit growing, will 

 have the same result as neglect in any other kind of business. Doing 

 the proper thing at the proper time and in the proper way is the rule 

 which should be observed in pruning trees, and if observed, but a 

 slight amount of work will suffice, whereas if disregarded, the time 

 will certainly come when the labor must be performed, and then it 

 will be at the cost of greater labor, and with not nearly so good re- 

 sults. 



How to Regulate Fruit Production The neglect by 

 farmers to take sufficient care in thinning out the fruit is the cause 

 of many unfruitful seasons through which trees pass. Sometimes 

 it will be found that a tree will yield excessively one 

 year and the next year little or no fruit. The reason 

 is that the exhaustion occasioned by a yield too great for the re- 

 sources of the tree compels a cessation of production in order to re- 

 cuperate the tree. It is nature's process, and belongs to the law of 

 compensation. It may be observed that in the year of excessive 

 fertility, a large proportion of the fruit will not mature properly, 

 but the drain upon the tree is the same. If the fruit had been 

 thinned to the proper proportion the actual results would have been 

 greater, as there would be a greater quantity of perfect fruit, while - 

 the barren year would probably have been avoided. The only way 

 to restore trees to the normal bearing condition is by thinning, and 

 this should be done very early in the season. When the fruit has 

 become fairly started, and before it has reached half-development, 

 the horticulturist should remove a large proportion of it, leaving 

 the best developed and enough to make a good ordinary yield. Some 

 destroy the blossoms by beating, but this is liable to injure the del- 

 icate twigs. Thinning involves careful labor, but it is well repaid 

 in the results. 



When and How Fruit Should be Gathered Fruit 

 should be gathered just at the time when it is ripe. It should be 

 gathered carefully so as to prevent bruising and carefully 

 assorted BO that it will stand being packed and stored. 

 That which is intended to " keep" should be gathered sooner than 

 fruit which is intended for immediate consumption. If it is intended 

 to send fruit to market, it should be gathered from the trees a little 

 before it has become fully ripe. But while this ability to transport 

 well is obtained in this way, the fruit will not have its perfect flavor' 



