THINNING AND MANURING 43 



thin them too soon. Many will fall off naturally, and the 

 syringing will detach those which are not fertilised. About 

 the middle of May it will be time to give the trees a 

 slight thinning over with a pair of sharp grape scissors, 

 reducing clusters of, say, 4 or 5 set fruits to 2, when, 

 should more fall off, two may be left together ; but it 

 is not wise to leave too many, as the roots of the trees 

 being confined in a pot, they cannot support such a crop 

 as they would outside with a 6-foot root run. At the 

 commencement of June the roots will have exhausted 

 most of the nutriment in the soil, and the trees must be 

 fed. This matter requires care, as the roots can only 

 take up a certain quantity of food, and if the stimulant 

 is too strong the roots will suffer ; the tree will first 

 have its leaves turn yellow and then they will fall, 

 therefore all artificial manures must be well diluted. 



It is safe to begin with some cow's dung placed in a 

 porous bag in the water-tanks. This will gradually give 

 out its properties to the water ; but the liquid should not 

 be allowed to get a darker colour than ale, and it may be 

 applied to the roots about once a weak. One tank can be 

 kept for clear water for syringing and watering, and the 

 other for manure water. The next change should be lime- 

 water. This helps the formation of wood growth and 

 also breaks up the insoluble stimulants in the soil, making 

 them fit for absorption by the rootlets. In July the sun 

 will cause rapid transpiration from the leaves, and it may 

 be necessary to syringe the trees every day, besides giving 

 water to the roots. In the same month a further help 

 should be given them by forming a ring of cow-dung at 

 the edges of the pot rim to form a sort of basin ; where 



