HOW TO GROW AND MARKET FRUIT 



would pay if you would get only half as many bushels, because 

 five bushels of large, perfect apples are worth more than ten 

 bushels of small, inferior ones. 



It is almost impossible to grow first-class peaches without 

 thinning, and equally difficult to get good plums. With grapes 

 it is no less important, but they should be thinned by winter 

 pruning. Cherries and pears require less thinning than other 

 fruits, but still they need it and cannot do nearly so well as 

 they should unless they get it. 



SUMMARY 



To get heavy crops of flawless fruit every year, when other 

 conditions have been met, thinning is necessary. 



Fruit trees naturally will set twice as many fruits as they can 

 mature perfectly. Unless removed, these will devitalize the 

 trees, exhaust the fruit buds, and then grow into imperfect, 

 small fruit. 



By taking off half an ordinary crop, we do not reduce the 

 number of bushels, but increase the size of each remaining 

 fruit. 



High color, rich flavor and perfect form are insured by 

 directing the whole energy of the tree into a limited number of 

 fruits. 



Only a half or a third of the fruit buds on a tree should bear 

 each year. The others should be developing for the next two 

 crops. It takes most fruits two or three years to develop. 



Never let trees that are too young mature many fruits. 



Remember that the big profits come only from fine fruit, 

 and that to get it you must thin intelligently. 



Take off all fruits that grow closer than from four to six 

 inches. Leave only the finest specimens removing damaged 

 ones, smaller ones, those on the ends of long whips, etc. Do 

 it soon after the fruit has set tightly, when it is about as large 

 as hickory nuts. 



Living Enemies of Trees 



ONE of the fourteen essentials for fruit-growing mentioned 

 at the beginning of this book was absence of enemies. 

 When a grower has mastered the methods of producing 

 good fruit, and has trees coming on nicely, his work is not done, 

 for he must overcome a lot of bugs and diseases which will 

 stunt or kill his trees and prevent the growth or ruin the quality 

 of his fruit if they are left alone. 



Most fruit-growers are convinced of this. The following 

 paragraph is not for them. But still many farmers point to 

 the fact that until a few years ago no spraying or other fighting 

 was done, and say it will not pay now. These men have an 

 honest idea that spraying is a fad which soon will cease to be 



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