Pruning Mature Trees 141 



bank, Abundance, Satsuma, Red June, and others of the 

 Japanese group, respond satisfactorily to rather severe 

 pruning. In fact, they are more like the apricot in their 

 frui ting-habit, and thrive under the same system of prun- 

 ing. When neglected, they tend to overbear in alternate 

 years. They should receive an annual heading-in and 

 thinning-out to force strong new growth which makes very 

 desirable fruiting-wood. While pruning as a means of 

 thinning the fruit is not without merit in the case of the 

 plums, it does not seem to give results comparable with 

 those secured in the peach. The grower of fancy plums 

 must supplement moderate pruning with hand-thinning. 



Thinning the Fruit 



In fancy-fruit growing, the necessity for thinning will 

 become more apparent as competition becomes more keen. 

 While the wisdom of thinning peaches is no longer doubted, 

 growers are not so willing to take up systematic work in 

 thinning apples and pears. But the time is coming when 

 the fruit-grower will be forced to conclude that it no longer 

 pays to grow poor fruit. Even now, the years that the 

 grower makes a profit in shipping choice fruit are the 

 exception rather than the rule. There are but few lo- 

 calities in which choice fruit cannot be grown, and wher- 

 ever shipped, such fruit must generally compete with 

 the home-grown product. On the other hand, localities 

 in which strictly fancy fruit can be grown are limited, and 

 competition in this class is more impartial. The com- 

 petition is between localities which are probably equally 

 distant from the market, and the one producing the best 

 fruit is the successful competitor. 



