25 



THE CHAIEMAN : I should like to endorse what :\Ir. 

 Geer says and what has been said by others in favor of the 

 practise. To my mind there is no one factor in fruit gfrow- 

 ing that needs urging more at the present time. I think 

 spraying is more important, but more of our growers spray, 

 while relatively few are interested in thinning. I Avould 

 like to give you one or two personal experiences. We have 

 teen thinning, both at the College and down at the farm for 

 five or six years, and we would never think of going back to 

 the practise of trying to grow a crop of good fruit without 

 thinning. This last year we had a very nice set of AYealthy 

 in our six years old trees, more than the trees ought to carry 

 We put the boys in there and thinned them out, and along 

 111 August or the first of September there was a eonnnission 

 man in Boston who liad a farm near there, who wrote up and 

 offered us $3.25 a barrel for them packed, ones and twos. 

 Said they were the handsomest crop of Wealthy he had ever 

 seen, said if he got them down here he would have to intro- 

 duce them to his customers because they wouldn't knoAV 

 A^ hat variety they were. W^e did not accept that offer but 

 sold them for i}^4.20. We have had the same experience 

 svith the thinning of Baldwin and peaches. AVe have not 

 had this gentleman's satisfactory results Avith the thinning 

 of Baldwin's. The trees Avere old trees. 



A :\IE:\rBER: I knoAv of a block of 125 Baldwin trees, 

 15 years old. that originally bore double Avhat they did the 

 off year. They have noAV got down, so that they bear 225 

 barrels as compared Avith 300 barrels on the big years, done 

 v»'holly by thinning, but among that lot there are some trees 

 that it is simply impossible to make bear cA'ery year by 

 thinning. • 



THE CPIAIRMAX: T think the gentleman is to be con- 

 gratulated if he has had that much success. 



A ME^IBER : We are beginning to think it is due Avhol- 

 ly to that terminal bud. There seems to be tAvo distinct 

 BaldAvins ; you can go through the orchard and see that the 

 second year old Avood produces the l)ud ; if there is a termi- 



