52 THE CONNECTICUT TOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



yowY Connecticut people thin your peaches, why not vonr 

 apples ? 



Mr. Hale: Mr. Cox, do you realize the trees are 35 feet 

 high here and it is not practical to get up in them to thin the 

 fruit? 



Mr. Cox : Mr. Hale, do you realize that you have to go 

 up there to pick the fruit when it is ripe, and it is cheaper to 

 go up there in the summer and pick part of them and 

 drop them down instead of havino- to carry them 

 down, and when they are ripe it will not take so long to pick 

 them. It doesn't cost as much as you imagine, and I advise 

 you to put some men into your orchards from the first of June 

 to July or August, when the tree is too full and pick off all 

 the little ones. 



A Member : Isn't it practical to clip them off with 

 scissors ? 



Mr. Cox : No, I don't advise using scissors. Take off 

 all the imperfect apples that have scab, insect stings or any- 

 thing of that nature. Take off all you have the courage to take 

 off and then pull oft' as many more and then w-hen those that 

 remain ripen you will have altogether too many. It is the 

 same with apples, peaches and pears. 



Now, in regard to picking. You pick peaches when they 

 get just right; you want to ha^'e the color on them. You all 

 know they do not all color at the same time. It is the same 

 with apples. \A'e put in some men and pick all that are nicely 

 colored and ready to pick, the largest and best quality, and we 

 leave the little ones and green ones, and you will be surprised 

 to find later that they have grown and colored up wonderfully. 

 It pays to leave them on the tree and go back a second time 

 and get the remainder of the crop. For instance, take a tree 

 that grows 10 barrels, go over that tree and pick oft' five or six 

 barrels the last of September or first of October, leave the rest 

 and when thev are ripe and nicely colored you will find the 

 fruit will l)e nearly as nice as the first lot you picked, ^^'hereas 

 if you picked them all at the same time you would have se^"eral 

 barrels of small, green, worthless apples and }ou would be 

 obliged to put them in for cider stock. ' 



We take a table into the orchard with us and each picker 



