118 POMOLOGY 



large part of the drop many seasons. If the larva works 

 into the soft pit the fruit drops very soon, while if it enters 

 only into the flesh the fruit may develop for a time and then 

 show color as if ripening and drop to the ground. 



In some sections, the apple-scab fungus causes a serious 

 non-setting of fruit and early dropping. The fungus girdles 

 the tender stems and prevents the development of the crop. 



104. How to thin. — In the operation of thinning the 

 apple and pear, the surplus may be removed by holding the 

 cluster or spur and carefully and quickly giving the fruit an 

 upward twist. A special type of shears is on the market 

 that is convenient in cutting the stems, but usually the op- 

 erator prefers to thin by hand. With the plum and peach, 

 the operation is still simpler — just pick off the surplus fruits 

 with the thumb and forefinger. Rakes and poles sometimes 

 used to remove the surplus are not to be recommended, al- 

 though such an operation is much cheaper. The objection 

 is that no discrimination can be made between good and 

 poor fruits. Shaking the tree is also a poor way to accom- 

 plish the desired results. The most outstanding warning 

 that can be given is to avoid breaking the fruit-spurs. Va- 

 rieties vary in the ease with which they are thinned. The 

 Rome apple, for example, because of the long stems, can 

 be removed very rapidly, while the York is difficult and 

 slow to work because of the short stems and ease with which 

 the spurs are broken. 



It should be recognized that considerable thimiing may 

 result when the trees are pruned, but with such fruits as 

 bear their entire crop from axillary buds, additional thin- 

 ning must be practiced. 



105. Distance to thin. — No definite rule can be given 

 for the distance apart that fruit should be thinned. Usually 

 apples should be from five to eight inches apart and peaches 

 from four to six inches. Beach recommends that apples be 



