The Thinning of Fruits 243 



spur is usually such as to preclude the production of the 

 fruit on the same spur every year. The philosophy of the 

 thinning of fruit, therefore, is that one spur shall bear 

 one year, and another spur the next. This means that 

 when fruit is thinned, it should be the object to remove 

 it wholly from some spurs in order that they may produce 

 fruit-buds for the following year. In those regions in 

 which certain fruits are systematically thinned, the crop 

 is obtained with great uniformity every year. This is 

 especially true of peaches. There is no reason why the 



FIG. 90. Apples in a cluster; to be thinned. 



same should not be said of other kinds of fruits, and for 

 every fruit-region. 



Thinning the apple. 



There is no dispute of the value of thinning for peaches, 

 dwarf pears and a few choice fruits, but it has been ques- 

 tioned whether the same or similar methods can be profi- 

 tably applied to the apple. The boxing of apples, however, 



