THE THINNING OF FRUIT 123 



crop. Powell ^ records an experiment with Kieffer pears in 

 whicli trees, eight years of age, were thinned. The trees 

 had set full and the fruits were removed so that no two 

 were closer than six inches. As a result, 83 per cent of the 

 thimied pears and 61 per cent of the check pears were of 

 the No. 1 grade. 



110. Thinning the grape. — Husmann ^ says: "It will 

 sometimes be necessaiy to thin the grape, in order to more 

 thoroughly develop the remaining bunches. The best 

 thinning is the reduction of bunches and bearing shoots, 

 at the first sunnner-pruning. If the nmnber of bunches 

 on each fruit-bearing branch is reduced to two, it will do no 

 injury, but make them so much more heavy and perfect." 



Bioletti ^ reconnnends thinning the grape in California 

 as follows: "This excessive compactness can be pre- 

 vented by thinning before the berries are one-third grown. 

 Thinning, moreover, increases the size of the berries, hastens 

 ripening, promotes coloring, and lessens some forms of 

 sunburn. . . .The bunches are thinned at any time after 

 the berries have set and before they have reached one-third 

 their mature size. No bunches are removed, but only a 

 certain proportion of the berries of each bunch. The number 

 of lierries to be removed will depend upon how compact the 

 unthhmed bunches usually become. In general it will vary 

 from one-third to one-half of the total number. ..." 

 This, it will be noted, refers to the European grape (Vitis 

 vinifem) as grown in California, and the same recommenda- 

 tions follow when V. vim f era is grown under glass in the 

 East. 



> PoweU, G. H. Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. 12th Ann. Rept. 1900. p. 140. 

 - Husmann, George. American Grape Growing and Wine Making. 

 1883. 

 3 Bioletti, F. T. Stand. Cyc. of Hort. III. p. 1385. 



