QUALITY CROPS EVERY YEAR 



that trees feed from both the roots and the leaves, as no one 

 now disputes. At the stem of every fruit is a bunch of leaves. 

 Sometimes there are half a dozen, sometimes only one, but 

 those are the leaves which mainly feed the fruit. (A smaller amount 

 of nutriment is drawn from any leaves within a foot.) Prove 

 this for yourself by pulling those stem leaves off several twigs. 

 You will find that without them the fruit will stay small and 

 green. Think then, how, when there is only one apple every 

 six inches, each will have a dozen or more leaves feeding it, 

 and consequently will develop to its fullest extent. This simple 

 fact explains a great many things, and if we bear it in mind 

 we easily can better the quality of many bushels of fruit as 

 we work about the trees. 



The proportion of water in fruits will vary, of course. 

 Apples have about 87 per cent. Now, since fruit is made up 

 so largely of water, it costs trees very little to develop the 

 flesh so little, in fact, that we can almost overlook the plant- 

 food required. Thus, any given number of big apples does not 

 use up five per cent more plant-food than the same number 

 of small apples. All this extra size and color and flavor costs 

 practically nothing. It is to be had for the taking. Even the 

 work of thinning is only doing in June labor that would have 

 to be done anyhow in September or October. The other two 

 thousand apples would have to be picked when ripe, and it 

 does not require any more time to pick big apples than it does 

 to pick little ones. 



All wormy, small and inferior fruits should come off first. 

 This will destroy an immense number of insects and fungi 

 spores, just at the stage when it will do the most good getting 

 rid of the next generation before it is hatched. Good fruits 

 should come off next, until only one remains of the cluster, 

 and until the fruits are far enough apart. 



Fruit on tips of long whips should come off, too, as it will 

 not develop into fancy specimens. If, after thinning to the 

 regular distance, so much weight remains that the branches 

 require props, thin some more. Props are a sign of poor orchard- 

 ing. Don't be afraid of taking off too much. Harden your 

 heart and snip ahead. 



Thinning the fruit on young trees is a necessity. Three- 

 or four- or five-year-old trees often will stunt themselves seri- 

 ously by maturing all the fruit they set. On two- and three- 

 year-old apple and pear, and on one- and two-year trees of other 

 kinds, the blossoms should come off, not even waiting for fruit 

 to set. 



It costs from ten to fifty cents to thin a twenty-year old 

 apple tree. Stone fruits can be thinned by pulling the fruits 

 off, while apples and pears will have to be cut off with shears. 

 But mark this down and wear it on your sleeve: don't damage 

 the buds from which you take fruit. They are your next year's 

 crop. 



By thinning, you can make your entire crop bring 20 to 300 

 per cent more than it would without thinning. You can have 

 $i.5o-bushel apples, instead of the $o-cent kind. Thinning 



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