STATE POMOLOGICAI, SOCIETY. 9I 



plum at Wisconsin Station. About four-fifths of the fruit was 

 removed from a portion of the tree, leaving the fruits about 

 two inches apart on the branches. The fruits on this portion of 

 the tree were considerabl}' larger than on the unthinned por- 

 tion. 



The Massachusetts Hatch Station has reported the results 

 of an experiment with apples and plums. A tree each of 

 Gravenstein and Tetofsky apples was thinned on July i, and a 

 similar tree of each variety left unthinned as a check. In case 

 of the Gravenstein, the yield on the thinned and unthinned 

 trees, respectively, was, first quality fruit, 9 bushels and 2^ 

 bushels ; second quality fruit, i bushel and 2>4 bushels ; wind- 

 falls, 9J/2 bushels and io>^ bushels. In case of the Tetofsky the 

 thinned tree gave one bushel of windfalls, and the unthinned 

 tree 3 bushels ; of second quality fruit the yield was one-half 

 bushel from each tree ; and of first quality fruit the thinned tree 

 yielded 2 bushels and the unthinned tree none at all. Allowing 60 

 cents per bushel for firsts, and 25 cents per bushel for seconds, the 

 market value of the thinned Gravenstein apples was over twice 

 .as much as that of the unthinned, and if the thinned Tetofsky 

 apples, eleven times as much as that of the unthinned. It cost 

 48 cents to thin the Gravenstein and 35 cents to thin the 

 Tetofsky. The net gain due to thinning was 85 cents for the 

 Tetofsky and $1.85 for the Gravenstein. It is thought that the 

 results would have been more pronounced if the thinning had 

 been done two weeks earlier. 



The results with plums were similar to those with apples, as 

 regards the increased production of fruit. 



The advantages claimed for thinning orchard fruits are about 

 as follows : Thinning increases the size of fruit, gives it more 

 •color and a better flavor. It diminishes the amount of worth- 

 less fruit, windfalls, etc., increases the amount of No. i fruit, 

 and in some cases increases the total yield. It lessens the 

 amount of rot, especially in the case of peaches and plums, 

 since the diseases can spread less easily where the fruits do not 

 touch each other. Thinning also tends to keep injurious insects 

 in check, as care is taken to remove the infested fruit. 



[The speaker then called attention to the leading insect and 

 fungous pests of the apple, and the work which has been done 



