418 General Notices. 



rich as possible. Yet it is necessary that they should prevent the evil con- 

 sequences to the tree of too great a production of these fruits. It is well 

 known that the apple and pear give a crop of fruit only in alternate years, 

 remaining much debilitated after having fruited. This appears to me to be 

 owing to a defect in the distribution of the sap ; being all drawn towards 

 the nutriment of the fruit, it cannot ensure the robust formation of the buds, 

 the hope of the following year. But even worse evils are to be feared. 

 Gerbezio gives the history of an apple tree wiiich, after having produced 

 one autumn an extraordinary quantity of apples, became, in the following 

 month of March, almost stripped of its bark, which detached itself from the 

 wood, commencing at the bottom of the trunk and continuing upwards 

 along the branches, and in a short time the tree perished. Last year I ob- 

 served something of the same kind in an apple tree, which the farmer as- 

 sured me had required the support of eight poles to prevent the branches 

 being broken down by the weight of the fruit. It was old, and to its age 

 was attributed the disease in question ; but, in my own mind, I was more 

 disposed to ascribe it to the over production of fruit. Peaches, plums, apri- 

 cots, pears, and almos! all fruit trees, are liable to this disease, which it is 

 very necessary to prevent, more especially where the ♦ree is valuable from 

 the quality of the fruit. This is done by depriving it of some of the fruit. 

 The practice becomes necessary at all times when the tree is weak, for 

 the purpose of ensuring the due formation of the new branches, as above 

 stated. 



Much caution must be used in this process of thinning; too much haste 

 in the operation must be avoided, as winds and insects cause a great num- 

 ber to fall, thus naturally assisting the tree. We must be careful not to 

 tear off the fruits w'e thin out, but cut them off with a sharp instrument. 

 The best rule to follow is, to choose the lime when the fruit has attained 

 about one half of its size, and then to cut out one wherever three or four 

 grow together. Some amateurs complain that some of the finer kind of 

 grapes, which they cultivate on trellises, and reserve for the table at a later 

 season, do not ripen well, on account of the grapes being too close in the 

 hunch. The remedy is easy : you have only with a pair of scissors to cut 

 out a portion of each bunch, taking it from the part next the trellis and 

 near the stalk, not from the extremity of the bunch, as is sometimes recom- 

 mended. 



I cannot pass over silently a circumstance in the cultivation of the vine 

 which I have often observed. When the crop has been scanty one year, 

 the vine is allowed the next year to overload itself with fruit, in order to 

 have a good vintage; but the grapes are then not of the best quality, and 

 the plant usually suffers considerably from weakness. The evil is then 

 owing to the inexperience and avidity of the cultivator. In the case of tall 

 trees, the above-mentioned methods are not practicable. In their case all 

 that can be done is to counteract the weakness following the over-produc- 

 tion of fruit, by working and manuring the roots, not immediately round 

 the trunk, according to the ordinary practice, but over the ultimate fibres of 

 the roots, which are those which suck up the juices. As the roots gener- 



