TO CHANGE THE BEARING YEAR. 47 



not like to tell him how he did it, and all he could find out 

 about it was, that when the trees were small and he could get 

 at them, he picked the blossoms off in the even year, and that 

 brought them into bearing on the odd year, and they con- 

 tinued to bear in the years when apples were scarce and 

 brought a high price. If that is the case, those men who are 

 setting out young orchards can very easily bring their trees 

 into bearing in the odd years, when they can make their crop 

 profitable. Mr. Strong thinks it will be difficult to pick off 

 fruit or blossoms, but if it is done while the trees are young, 

 I do not see any difficulty in doing it, any more than with 

 pears or any other small tree. I am confident that will pro- 

 duce the result of a good crop of apples, when they will 

 bring a good price. 



Mr. Hersey of Hingham. I wish to state a fact which has 

 come to my knowledge in regard to this subject of changing 

 the apple-bearing year. An acquaintance of mine, some 

 years ago, having two apple-trees which bore on the even 

 years, felt very desirous of changing the year of one of them, 

 as he had only these two trees. They were large trees, 

 bearing about three barrels each. As he was a man of leisure, 

 he did not think much of his time, and having read in some 

 newspaper this fact (if it be a fact), which has been stated 

 here, that by picking off the fruit-buds the bearing year 

 could be changed, he climbed his tree and crawled over the 

 limbs, and picked off every blossom on the tree, determined 

 to make a sure thing of it. Well, the result was, he said, 

 that the tree did not bear that year ; the next year, it did not 

 bear any more than the other ; but when it came the even 

 year, he had his six barrels of apples. You have this fact 

 for what it is worth. I know it to be a fact, as well as I 

 know anything, because it was a very particular friend of 

 mine, whose word I have no doubt of. I think that this 

 statement, which has been the rounds of our papers so many 

 times, cannot be relied upon. I believe that we must look 

 for some other plan to change the bearing year. In fact, as 

 soon as the fruit begins to form, I think gentlemen well 

 know that the fruit-buds are prepared for another year, and 

 if they are allowed to come out and blossom, the strength of 

 the tree, for the time being, is in a great measure spent, so 



