86 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



such a thing as allowiug a tree to overbear. Xeither should we with our 

 apple trees. It does not take much louger to pick the apples iu August 

 thau it would in October. If your trees are in the soil that they should 

 be they will overbear nearly every year; then keep them judiciously 

 thinned and you will get the best results. 



Ques. In planting seeds will you get the same kind of apples? If you 

 plant a seed from a Russet apple will j-ou get a tree that will bear a Eus- 

 set apple or something different? 



Ans. It is very seldom that you will get anything like the seed that 

 is planted. There are certain vaileties that seem to come up nearer true, 

 and will show some of the characteristics of the apple from which the 

 seed was taken, but these are very few. You would be about as likely 

 to get a sweet red apple from a Russet as you would be to get one 

 resembling the Russet. There is no dependence at all to be put on the 

 seed. The old catalogued High Top Sweet raised largely through Ken- 

 nebec county is an exception. I have seen whole orchards raised from 

 the seed, and evei'j' tree was the old High Top Sweet, almost exactlj' like 

 it. But there are very few kinds like this. 



Ques. At what age of the apple would you thin it? 



Ans. I would thin it as early as I could. When the tree is covered 

 with these little apples you do not realize how large they are going to be 

 and j-ou do not see the necessity of thinning until the.y get nearly half 

 grown. Any time before the seed gets thoroughly formed will do, and 

 it is just as well to put it off until the apples are quite large because you 

 can then pick oft your wormy ones and small ones. We have thinned 

 generally about the last of July or the first of August. 



Ques. Would thinning on a young tree have any tendency to make 

 the fruit drop in years to come? 



Ans. I cannot see any reason why it should have that effect. 



Ques. Wouldn't thej' pick rather hard at the time j^ou thin them? 



Ans. They pick a little harder than in the fall. 



Ques. Wouldn't you be more liable to break the whole end of the 

 limb? 



Ans. You would be more liable to do this, but with most varieties 

 there are fruit spurs enough left. There are kinds that are shy bearers, 

 and they do not need thinning. But with varieties like the Baldwin or 

 Hubbardston Nonsuch if you break a few spurs there will be enough left. 



