The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



\ 



ol. XXX 



JUNE, 1907 



No. 6 



Thinning Fruit on Trees Increases Profit 



PRUNING the wood and thinning the 

 fruit are allied processes in fruit cul- 

 ture. Any system of pruning materi- 

 ally affects the productiveness of the 

 tree in the following and succeeding 

 seasons. The practice of heading-in 

 peach, pear and plum trees is virtually 

 a thinning process as it removes a por- 

 tion of the bearing wood. To supple- 

 ment the work of pruning and to affect 

 the productiveness of the current season 

 it is necessary to remove by hand the 

 superfluous fruits. By doing this, some 

 important things are accomplished. 

 The trees will be stronger and more 

 shapely; they will not break or be in- 

 jured from an over-burden of fruit; the 

 crops of fruit will be more regular; the 

 labor in culling will be reduced ; and the 

 fruits will be greatly improved in size, 

 quality and appearance, and consequent- 

 ly will bring a much better price. Thin- 

 ning is a means of insurance against 

 insect and fungous enemies, as it not only 

 destroys infected specimens, but by 

 stimulating the growth of foliage and 

 twig, it enables the tree to better with- 

 stand such depredations. 



Many growers think that the opera- 

 tion of thinning is expensive. As^ it is 

 performed when the orchard is giving 

 no returns, it may seem expensive at the 

 time, but after-profits and increase in 

 profits fully compensate for the earlv 

 expenditure. A carefully recorded trial 

 for one season will convince the most 

 sceptical that it pays to thin. 



When apple trees are thinned, the 

 larvae of the codling moth are killed when 

 the removed fruits dry up or decav on 

 the ground. The same thing occurs in 

 the case of pears and quinces. When 

 plums and cherries are thinned, it 

 destroys also large numbers of curculio. 



Peaches should be thinned as soon as 

 the fruit is nicely formed, and before 

 the seeds commence to harden. The 

 usual custom is to thin soon after the 

 so-called "June drop." which takes 

 place when the peaches are about the 

 size of marbles. All diseased, stung, 

 distorted and injured specimens should 

 be picked off, regardless of position. A 

 sufficient number of others should be 

 removed so as to leave on the trees the 



best specimens, not less than five or six 

 inches apart. The best grade of fruit is 

 obtained when no more than three or 

 four peaches are left on a fruiting branch, 

 the previous year's growth. In the fol- 

 lowing letter to The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist, Mr. E. D. Smith, M.P., of 

 Winona, Ont., states his experience: 



" My experience in thinning fruit 

 on trees has been eminently satisfac- 

 tory. Some four or five years ago 

 was my first trial, and it was in the 

 nature of an experiment. I had ninety 

 Triumph peach trees, four years old 



y\ MarKed Improvement 



I congratulate The Canadian 

 Horticulturist on the very mate- 

 rial improvement that has taken 

 place in its make-up and in the 

 character of its articles during the 

 past two years. May it have the 

 greatest measure of success. — Wil- 

 liam Stuart, Horticulturist, Ver- 

 mont Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



This is a variety that loads very heavily. 

 These trees were in the pink of condition 

 and, in June, I made an estimate of the 

 number of peaches on an average tree, 

 which was about 1,000. I estimated 

 that these trees could not sustain more 

 than 400 peaches to bring them up to 

 the size of No. 1 peaches, or eighty to 

 the eleven-quart basket, making five 

 baskets from a tree. I therefore, thin- 

 ned off an average of 600 peaches 

 from every tree, leaving the peaches 

 on an average four inches apart. I 

 harvested just about five baskets to the 

 tree, seventy-five per cent, of them 

 being No. 1, which I sold at sixty cents 

 a basket. The remainder were good, 

 strong No. 2, which I sold at forty cents 

 a basket. I left five trees as a check. 

 These five trees were so hcavilv laden 

 that the peaches were too small for even 

 No. 2, though the land was exceedinglv 

 rich. They were not suitable to send to 

 mv customers; I sent them to a com- 

 mission market, where they could be 

 sold for what they were worth. I got 



I3i 



for them just enough to pay for the 

 baskets and the express and cost of 

 picking, no more. Besides that, two of 

 the trees were split to pieces and took 

 three years to recover. 



"After this experience I did not require 

 to make further experiments. The only 

 fault in this one was that I did not thin 

 quite close enough. If I had thinned a 

 little closer I would have had all No. 1 

 peaches. This should be the aim of 

 every grower. There is no necessity for 

 any No. 2 peaches being grown, barring 

 accidents or extraordinary dry seasons. 

 The price of No. 2 peaches ought to be 

 set very low by buyers. 



"The knowledge of the immense bene- 

 fits of thinning peaches is beginning to 

 produce a revolution in regard to the vari- 

 eties of peaches to plant. All varieties 

 which bear extremely heavy are neces- 

 sarily bound to produce small peaches. 

 On the other hand, most of the varieties 

 which bear heavily are naturally hardy 

 and produce almost annual crops. Take, 

 for instance, Crosby and Longhurst. 

 These tw-o varieties scarcely ever fail of 

 a crop and can be planted over a much 

 wider area of territory than such varie- 

 ties as Early Crawford, Late Crawford, 

 Fitzgerald, Elberta, etc. These and 

 many others are large, fine sorts. 

 Of late, people have stopped planting 

 in the frint belt all white peaches and 

 all varieties that do not naturally grow 

 to be large in size, realizing the absolute 

 necessitv of having large, vellow peaches, 

 but now^ they are beginning to discover 

 that there is another way of getting 

 large peaches and a much surer way 

 because, with the varieties named and 

 most others of the large sorts, there is a 

 great uncertainty as regards the crop. 

 One year there is a good crop, the next 

 year, perhaps, there is a failure owing to 

 the buds being comparatively tender. 

 Not so, however, with these hardy sorts; 

 thev bear almost annually, and if the 

 peaches are thinned down to about five 

 or six inches apart, they will be of a size 

 to go for strictly No. 1 peaches. On 

 good eround they are perfectlv satisfac- 

 torv for No. 1 fruit, and the Longhurst 

 is of a specially good Quality for canning. 

 The Crosby is also of excellent quality. 



