HORTICULTURE 176 



if judiciously applied, protect young trees from weakness through 

 over-bearing; and will lessen the loss from broken branches and 

 splitting of mature trees. Whether or not it will be a paying opera- 

 tion will depend on market possibilities. Where near a market that 

 will respond with extra prices for extra quality, the grower of apples 

 could probably thin with good financial results, either directly or by 

 establishing a reputation for fine fruit. The whole question as it re- 

 lates to commercial orchards is well summed up by the New York 

 State Fruit Growers' Association : "When there is a general crop of 

 apples and the crop is very full, so that the chance for small fruit is 

 very great and widespread over the country, it would pay to thin to 

 such an extent as to insure good-sized fruit. Aside from this it would 

 not pay, only for the protection of the tree." (N. Y. E. S. B. 239.) 



Uses of the Apple. No fruit in the North Temperate Zone can 

 take the place of the apple as a food product. Many other fruits, 

 indeed most cultivated fruits, rank as luxuries, but the apple in most 

 parts of the United States is one of the leading staple products of 

 the farm. 



In its numerous varieties its seasons of maturity extend 

 throughout the year. No other fruit of the Temperate Zone may 

 thus be had in continuous succession without resorting to artificial 

 means of preservation. It is preeminently useful in the household 

 economy. As a culinary fruit none excels it. It graces the table in a 

 greater variety of forms than any other, and as a dessert fruit few are 

 its equal and none its superior. Its juice when extracted makes an 

 excellent and wholesome beverage, and for vinegar it has no rival. 

 As a market fruit it is one of the easiest and least expensive to han- 

 dle, and usually finds a ready sale if well grown and handled with 

 care. 



Among the many ways in which the apple is now used the man- 

 ufacture of jellies and preserves is one of growing importance. The 

 numerous factories for the manufacture of these goods which have 

 sprung up all over the apple-growing region of the country have not 

 only created a demand for second and third grade apples, but also for 

 the waste products cores and skins resulting from drying and 

 evaporating the fruit. It has been found that jellies made from this 

 apple waste are almost as good as those manufactured from whole 

 fruit. These waste products have not only a value for the uses above 

 mentioned, but there is a growing demand for them for export pur- 

 poses for the manufacture of cheap wines and cider. 



Chops for which there is also ready sale for export purposes, are 

 made from the lower-grade apples by chopping the whole fruit into 

 coarse pieces and evaporating them. Apple butter of the real, rich, 

 old-time farm product, not the thin, factory-made excuse, fills an im- 

 portant place in the household economy and always finds a ready sale 

 at good prices. 



Good sweet cider made from sound apples, not from half-de- 

 cayed, wormy fruit, is one of the most healthful products of the 

 orchard, and all surplus over and above what is needed for home con- 

 sumption is always in demand at remunerative prices. It can be 



