POT FRUIT CULTURE AND ITS ADVANTAGES 141 



tity. A good, thrifty Plum tree should bear the first year from thirty to forty 

 fruits, according to the variety or size of fruit. 



Apples and Pears may bear the first season from six to twelve fruits, accord- 

 ing to the variety. Kinds like Souv. de Congress or Pitmaston Duchess Pear 

 may carry five or six. More fruit may be left on each year as the trees increase 

 in size. A Peach or a Nectarine which has developed normally for fi\e or six 

 years should be capable of carrying a crop of fifty fruits or more. 



The thinning of the fruit should be done by degrees. This applies par- 

 ticularly to Pears, for these have at times a habit of dropping their fruit, until 

 they pass a certain stage, or the fruit is a little larger than the thumb; after 

 that there is less danger. Peaches and Nectarines may receive their final thin- 

 ning when the fruit is about the size of a Walnut. Some writers advocate 

 leaving on a surplus until they have passed their period of stoning, and it is 

 probably well to do so where there is any difficulty with fruit dropping while 

 stoning. But I think that when the wood is thoroughly ripened in the Fall 

 and the trees are subjected to the due amount of frost, they are not very likely 

 to drop their fruit while stoning. If this surplus fruit is allowed to stay on 

 the tree until the stoning is completed, the tree is taxed unnecessarily, or at 

 the expense of the average crop, for after the stoning is completed, it does not 

 require much more strain to ripen the fruit. It is well to understand the nature 

 of orchardhouse fruit. 



As I have already explained the method of gathering Peaches and Nec- 

 tarines, in the section on Peaches and Nectarines under glass, I will refer the 

 reader to those pages. 



The Pear is perhaps the most exacting of all fruit. If gathered too soon, 

 it will shrivel and be useless, and if left too long on the tree, it will become over- 

 ripe. A Bartlett or a Madame Treyve, or any Pear of that nature, if gathered 

 in proper season, is firm, rich and juicy, but loses its flavor if allowed to hang 

 too long, becoming soft and almost disagreeable. When the fruit separates 

 readily when lifted to a horizontal position, or the stalk leaves the wood spur 

 without any pulling, it is a fairly sure indication that it is in the best possible 

 condition for picking. If the fruit is then kept for a week or ten days in a cool 

 dark room, or until it has turned to a golden yellow, it will be firm, rich and 

 juicy. If allowed to stay on the tree until o\er-ripc, it will be decidedly flat 

 and mushy. 



Plums, on the contrary, may be allowed to hang until they come off with 

 the slightest touch, retaining their full, rich flavor. Varieties like The Czar, 

 Mallard or Denniston Superb, Golden Esperen and many others are ideal for 

 table use, and when highly finished are eagerly sought after as a dessert luxury. 

 They surpass in richness of flavor any Plums that are grown in the open field 

 or garden. 



