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breeding directed toward rapid growth, this rapidity being accelerated 

 by the application of stimulating manures. Now all this means weak 

 tissues, for nature cannot be hurried and yet do her work with the 

 same thoroughness that would characterise her normally slower process. 

 Beside being smaller, early fruit has poorer keeping qualities than 

 later fruit, and this must always continue to be so ; we cannot tf eat 

 our cake and keep it too." Early fruit must from the very nature 

 of things remain peculiarly susceptible to the attacks of Gloeosporium 

 and similar fungi. Hence it follows, as before remarked, that in the 

 orchard we must give especial attention to the agencies which open 

 up the way for the entrance of these enemies. As far as it will prove 

 profitable, we must attend to the action on our crop, of wind, rain, 

 hail, sun, insects, birds always bearing in mind that the minutest 

 wound inflicted by any of these agencies is liable to be as injurious as 

 though it were large enough to be visible. 



In order to be more specific, it may be well to mention some of 

 the necessary precautions more in detail. 



Drainage should be attended to, because it sometimes happens that 

 after a period of dry weather a succession of rain storms gives to the 

 crop such an excess of water that, the skin of the fruit having 

 acquired a certain inaptitude to further expansion, the sudden pressure 

 causes it to burst. Good drainage will tend to avert this loss by 

 taking away all excess of water as fast as possible. 



The sun is responsible for damage where the pruning is such 

 as to admit too strong a light, and too much heat, to the fruit. 

 This results in " sun-scald/' It should be borne in mind that this 

 injury is not so common as it is believed to be by some. There is an 

 infallible test with regard to injury caused by the sun that is often 

 overlooked. The sun injures only one side of the fruit, the side it 

 shines on. This seems so self-evident as to require an apology for 

 referring to it, and certainly no reference would be made here were 

 it not for the fact that the author not infrequently receives fruit 

 injured on all sides, and yet accompanied by the suggestion that the 

 injury is " sun-scald." 



, The wind is responsible for more injury to delicate-skinned early 

 fruit than would appear at first sight. We must remember that at 

 the time of ripening the skin of early fruits is particularly liable to 

 injury. Falling twigs and bits of bark, flying debris carried by a 

 gust of wind, are quite competent at this time to puncture the delicate 

 skin of many kinds of fruit. 



The continued chafing of one part of a fruit tree against another, 

 the knocking of the fruit against twigs and leaves are things to be 

 taken into account at the time of pruning. The provision of proper 

 wind breaks in situations liable to windy weather is a feature of orchard 

 .work that leads to less loss from fungi as well as from wind-falls. 



Improper spraying is occasionally the source of some little trouble 

 in connection with ripe-rot fungi. It sometimes happens that the 

 apray is applied at the wrong time ; that is to say, at a time followed 

 immediately by strong and hot sunlight. Such light acting through 

 the droplets of spray is concentrated as it would be by passing 



