THE WORK OF FRUITS 319 



splits are made, which consequently become filled with 

 parenchyma, and a swelling forms at the twisted place. 

 The branch is subsequently bent to form a loop. 

 In layering Quinces, branches are twisted whenever 

 roots are to be formed. In some localities the stems 

 of nearly ripe grapes are twisted, thus diminishing 

 the water supply and making the grapes sweeter. 

 Breaking the branch over the blade of a knife acts 

 like twisting. Pruning the roots or simply laying them 

 partially bare is sometimes resorted to with excellent 

 results. In this connection it is interesting to note 

 that a drought (or a frost) often starts the trees of 

 an entire region to fruiting at the same time. It has 

 been observed that the attacks of borers, by checking 

 the growth, often cause trees to bear : for the same 

 reason, driving nails into Plum and Peach trees some- 

 times causes them to bear. 



It is, of course, well known that the exposure of 

 the land has much to do with fruitfulness. For this 

 reason vineyards are placed on hillsides with a 

 southern exposure, and vines and fruit trees are fre- 

 quently trained against walls with like exposure. Pro- 

 tection from wind is also important, since the wind 

 dries young fruits and causes them to fall and also 

 lowers the temperature : for this reason windbreaks 

 are indispensable in many orchards. 



To summarize, then, we may say that in order to 

 produce abundant fruit we must provide for an early 



