144 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



before they are 10 years old, and at this age the average 

 tree should produce about eight boxes of fancy fruit; 

 some will produce more and some less. After the tenth 

 year a gain of a box per year would be a conservative esti- 

 mate. Of course the yield will vary under different con- 

 ditions; and, while this is not a rule that may be implicitly 

 followed, it is surely more accurate than thinning to a 

 certain distance. 



The thinner first removes defective or wormy specimens, 

 and he should be supplied with a bag to carry the wormy 

 fruits from the orchard to be destroyed; then those 

 from the tips of the limbs may as well be removed, for they 

 seldom make fancy fruit; and, if possible to do it and 

 leave the required amount, thin to one fruit on the spur. 

 June and early July is the proper season for thinning apples 

 and pears. 



Experiments have shown that it pays to thin apples. 

 The fruit is improved in both size and color, the tree bears 

 more regularly, and those that might break under heavy 

 loads are saved. Some persons say it is expensive to thin; 

 but, if one stops to calculate, he will find that it really 

 costs no more to pick fruit in June than it does in October. 

 A man can thin from ten to fifteen twelve-year-old trees 

 per day, and the actual cost of thinning should not exceed 

 two cents per box. It is true that the results the first 

 season are often disappointing, for an unthinned tree may 

 produce sixteen boxes of fruit that will grade 50 per cent 

 fancy, while the thinned tree of the same age produces 

 only ten boxes that will grade 95 per cent fancy. This 

 hardly seems profitable; but the next year will tell, and 

 it is safe to say that two years running the thinned tree 



