84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



constant overcropping of a tree is a reduction of the elements 

 on which liealtii and fruitfidness depend. Tlie great principle 

 of sustenance and reciprocal relation runs through the whole 

 mass of life, of mind, and of matter : 



" One cry with never ceasing sound, 

 Circles Creation's ample round." 



Another consideration connected with the process of thinning, 

 is the time when the work should be executed. It should not 

 be done before we can distinguish the choicest specimens in a 

 cluster of fruit, nor delayed so long as to waste the energies of 

 the tree. This practice, judiciously followed, will supersede the 

 necessity of staying up the branches, will prevent injury to the 

 tree by their breaking, and will prove decidedly economical. 



Associated with the thinning of fruits is the expediency of 

 gathering a part of the crop as soon as it approaches maturity. 

 The remaining specimens will thereby be much increased in 

 size and excellence. The fruit of a tree does not all come to 

 maturity at the same time, hence this successional gathering 

 will turn the crop to the highest practical account, and will 

 keep the productive energies of the tree in a hcaltliful and pro- 

 fitable condition. 



In a word, fruits trees will not take care of themselves. 

 Constant vigilance is the price of superior trees or superior 

 fruit. The poet may sing of tlie 



" redundant growth 

 Of vines and maize, and bower and brake, 

 Which nature, kind to sloth, 

 And scarce solicited by human toil. 

 Pours from the riches of the teeming soil ; " 



but the cultivator of fruits must realize the fact, that without 

 care and skill he cannot depend on uniform and continued 

 success. 



Marshall P. Wilder. 



Jabkz Fisher. 



Ephkaim W. Bull. 



Nathan Durfee. 



John B. Moore. 



Asa Clement. 



