96 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



above the anthers to keep off rain. Some kinds of 

 flowers fail to protect their pollen, and the crop of 

 fruit is often ruined by rain at the time of bloom. 

 Find out how the iris, sweet pea, linden, violet, and 

 primrose keep the pollen dry. See whether by sprin- 

 kling water on them you can wet the pollen. 



After the pollen has reached the young seeds and they 

 have begun to grow, a fierce struggle for food begins. 

 From the very first some take the food from the rest and 

 grow faster. Often they kill the others, which shrivel 

 up and in the ripe fruit are not seen at all. So out of 

 many which start to grow, only a few may be left when 

 the fruit is ripe, but these are large and of more real 

 use than many small weak seeds would be. 



Is there also a struggle among the fruits on the same 

 tree? Do you find that some grow by taking food from 

 others ? Do all the grapes of a cluster grow to the same 

 size? Do all the pears and apples on a tree grow 

 large and become ripe? 



When the grower " thins " the fruit, he thinks that 

 the crop of fruit will gain enough in quality, size, weight, 

 etc., to more than make up for the loss of the fruit he 

 picks off. A certain weight of large fruit will sell for 

 more than the same number of pounds of small fruit. 



To get good fruit we must have plenty of food for 

 its growth. In the early part of the season give the 

 plants plenty of water and cultivate the soil; as the 

 time of bearing draws near, give less water. Too much 



