THINNING TILLAGE 221 



knows where the fruit buds are, cutting them off will have 

 the effect of removing the fruit. In the case of tender 

 fruits, like peaches, however, it may not be advisable to 

 Thin very heavily by means of pruning, since the fruit may 

 be still further Thinned by the remaining days of winter, 

 by late spring frost, or by the leaf -curl or other disease. 

 However, the proper pruning of a peach tree in winter is, 

 in part, a Thinning of the fruit. The peach is borne on the 

 wood of the previous season's growth. The best fruits are 

 to be expected on the strongest and heaviest growth. It is 

 the practice of peach-growers to remove all the weak and 

 immature wood from the inside of the tree. This has the 

 effect of Thinning out the inferior fruit and allowing the en 

 ergy of the tree to be expended on the remainder. Apples 

 are rarely Thinned ; but in many cases, Thinning can be 

 done with profit. On all home grounds, fruits should be 

 Thinned whenever the trees are very full. In general, the 

 best time to thin the fruit, as already said, is when the 

 fruits have become large enough to be seen and handled. 

 The discarded fruits should be burned if they contain insects 

 or fungi. 



Thunbergia. Tender climbers, making very 

 pretty low screens. They are at their best when 

 grown along the ground where the moisture keeps; 

 them free from the attacks of red spider. Some' 

 of the kinds are very fine vase or basket plants. 

 All may be grown easily from seed. Annuals, 4 

 to 6 feet. Flowers white and yellow. 



Tillage. By Tillage is meant the stir- 

 ring of the soil. Tillage is the fundamental opera- Thunbergia aiata 

 tion in agricultural practice. Most farmers till 

 for three reasons : to get the seed into the land ; to keep 

 the weeds down; and to get the crop out of the land. The 

 real reason for Tillage, however, is to ameliorate the land; 

 that is, Tillage makes the soil mellow and fine, and an 

 agreeable place in which plants may grow. It enables the 



