PEACHES AND NECTARINES 



CHAPTER XVI 



THINNING THE FRUIT-GATHERING THE PEACHES AND 

 NECTARINES WHEN RIPE 



Treatment of Trees after Fruit is Gathered — Pruning and Training 



BOTH the Peach and the Nectarine usually set heavy crops, and if all the 

 fruit were allowed on the trees, they would, within a few years, get 

 exhausted with overcropping. It is, moreover, impossible to have fancy 

 fruit when the tree is overloaded. Fruit from an overcropped tree lacks that 

 sweet, delicious flavor which is so much appreciated in fruit grown under glass. 

 This is one of the most important points in this kind of fruit culture. While 

 severe thinning may seem a waste of fruit, we gain in size and quality what we 

 lose in quantity. A fair crop, furthermore, means a steady supply from year to 

 year. There are, in fact, no off years with fruit under glass, with proper 

 treatment. 



A grower should become familiar with the different varieties before under- 

 taking to thin his crop, for some kinds grow much larger than others. A Thomas 

 Rivers Peach will require more thinning than a Grosse Mignonne. Noblesse 

 Peach, when fairly well thinned, is one of the finest for indoor work, 

 but overcrop it and its flavor is flat. The same applies to Nectarines, though 

 they may be left on the tree a trifle thicker than Peaches. Tiie improved form 

 of this fruit that has appeared in recent years is larger than the Nectarine of 

 years ago. Victoria Nectarine, when not overcropped, is magnificent, both in 

 size and flavor. Unfortunately, it is somewhat deficient in color, but the flavor, 

 which should count more than the color, is all that could be desired. No rules 

 can be given as to the quantity of fruit a tree can carry, for it depends on cir- 

 cumstances — whether a tree has a tendency to rankness or is of normal growth. 

 The first may be allowed to carry more fruit, for it will be beneficial rather 

 than hurtful. 



In the house twenty-five feet wide, with the trees planted crosswise, one 

 tree for each trellis planted in the center of the house, there will be a spread 

 of branches on each side of the main stem of about nine feet, or a complete 

 spread of seventeen or eighteen feet, a trellis, say eighteen feet wide and ten feet 

 or more in height. A full-grown Peach tree will cover the allotted space on the 

 trellis, and it should carry annually from 250 to 300 fruits, according to the 

 variety and size, if it is in a healthy, normal condition; this is a safe, conserva- 

 tive estimate. 



