APPLES 



311 



it costs no more to pick them in Jime 

 than it does in September or October. 

 In fact, it is much easier to do the work 

 at thinning time for the fruit may simply 

 be thrown upon the .ciround and raked 

 up. A good man should thin eight to ten 

 good sized trees in a day. 



When and How to Tliiii 



The worlv should commence tlie latter 

 part of June or the first of .July. The 

 defective and wormy specimens are first 

 removed. Sometimes the thinner carries 

 a bag over his shoulder for the wormy 

 apples, but this is not necessary if all the 

 thinned apples are afterward raked up 

 and destroyed. The thinner next relieves 

 the crowding. As a rule no more than 

 one apple should be left on a single fruit 

 spur, and those on the tips of the branches 

 usually should be removed, for they sel- 

 dom make first grade fruit. The result 

 should be that the remaining apples are 

 about six inches apart. Some of the 

 smaller sized varieties may be left closer 

 and some of the larger growing sorts 

 should be given more room. Some vari- 

 eties seldom need thinning and there are 

 others that habitually overbear. 



Tliiiinintr the Winesap 



-The Winesap ap]ile. as a rule, does not 

 (in Colorado! attain sufficient size to 

 meet the requirements for packing in the 

 higher grades. This is especially true of 

 heavil.v loaded old trees. It is not a "shy" 

 bearer, but has a tendency to bear a heavy 

 crop every year. 



Does Thiuuiiig: Pay J 

 It often happens that the fruit grower 

 does not like to do a thing unless he is 

 sure that he will get quick returns for 

 his labor. He so often does not look 

 far enough into the future to regulate and 

 manage certain factors over which he 

 may have control that would Insure fu- 

 ture returns which would more than pay 

 for any extra effort that he might put 

 forth. From this standpoint it is neces- 

 sary to consider other phases than that 

 of the net returns of a single year, to 

 tell whether or not thinning pays. These 

 may be stated as follows: 



1. .Maintaining the vigor of the trees. 



2. Securing annual crops instead of al- 

 ternate. 



3. To be able to produce fruit of maxi- 

 mum size, color and quality. 



^Uaiiituliiiiiti!: the Yigor 



This is a very important factor, for 

 any fruit tree when injured or impaired 

 in an.v manner, will not be able so suc- 

 cessfully to resist insect, fungus and freez- 

 ing effects. 



Thinning annually and uniformly will 

 have much to do in preserving this vital- 

 ity. * * * 



The breaking down of limbs is the re- 

 sult of overbearing and can only be 

 avoided by either propping or pruning 

 and thinning. We firmly believe that 

 props have no place in an orchard and 

 when used are only a sign of very poor 

 orchard management. There is no doubt 

 that pruning has a very important place 

 in orchard management and should not, 

 by any means, be neglected. Especially 

 is this true for the young trees. If a 

 tree is properly pruned every year from 

 the time it is set out, the amount of prun- 

 ing can be decreased somewhat in pro- 

 portion to the size of the tree when it 

 has become full-grown. The word full- 

 grown is used more or less arbitrarily, 

 but generally conveys the idea that the 

 tree is capable of bearing a full crop. 

 Some think that every apple tree can be 

 thinned enotigh with the pruning shears 

 in the winter time, thereby doing away 

 with the necessity of thinning by hand 

 in the summer. These people forget that 

 the plant food that goes to make and ma- 

 ture the apple is manufactured by the 

 leaves and not the roots of the tree. Keep 

 a tree defoliated in the summer for any 

 length of time and you will kill it. It 

 is not best to obtain all of the leaf sur- 

 face possible, as would be the case with 

 an unpruned tree, for this would mean 

 wood growth at the expense of fruit, and 

 a greater amount of hand thinning. 

 There would also be too much shade for 

 the fruit and a poor color would be the 

 result. A well balanced and well cared 

 for tree, bearing a good crop of uniform 

 sized apples every year will retain its 



* K. R. Bennett. Storrs. Conn.. Experiment 

 Station Report, 1903. 



