304 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 



portion before the flowers upon it have opened, it 

 was hoped that there might be a larger and better 

 fruit produced upon the remaining portion of the 

 cluster. 



"In the experiment, alternate bushes in a row 

 were treated with the scissors, and in passing it 

 may be said that this method of thinning can be 

 done rapidly. When the fruit was ripe, the whole 

 product from an average bush, of the clipped and 

 of the undipped plants, was picked and spread out 

 upon tables. Judges ignorant of what had been done 

 were then called in to inspect the results. No one 

 failed to notice at once the difference, and all pro- 

 nounced in favor of the fruit that had been treated. 

 The berries were larger and of more nearly uniform 

 size and ripeness. Two hundred berries were next 

 removed from the uncut clusters, and it required 

 thirty-five clusters to furnish this number. They 

 weighed, clear of all stems, one hundred and fifty- 

 two grams. The same number, furnished by thirty 

 clipped clusters, weighed one hundred and sixty -three 

 grams. These results show that there were about 

 15 per cent more berries to the cluster upon the 

 cut plants than upon the ordinary ones, and that 

 these berries were about 7 per cent heavier. The 

 question of quality was only determined by tasting, 

 but there was no doubt in the minds of the judges 

 that the thinned clusters bore fruit of the finest 

 flavor. Like all other fruit, currants sell somewhat 

 upon their appearance, and there is no mistake that 

 from the uniform size and ripeness of the fruit and 



