175 



Peaches and nectarines, next to apricots, require thinning, 

 and according to the earliness or lateness of the variety, and of the 

 locality, this operation should be done from the middle of Novem- 

 ber to the middle of December. They are generally thinned when 

 about the size of a hazel nut, or a little larger, and a space of 4 to 

 6 inches should be left between each fruit. In Michigan and in 

 Georgia, where peach growing ranks as one of the leading industries, 

 only two peaches are left on twigs J inch in diameter, after the 

 trees have been well pruned ; three or four on twigs | inch in 

 diameter, and if the land is not irrigated and is not naturally 

 moist, only half ; thus the trees will bear a good crop every year, 

 and will be long-lived. All thinning is carefully done by hand, 

 and all double fruit is taken off. The fruit on the points of the 

 branches should be much further apart than that along the limbs 

 of the tree. Peaches (except the early flat China peach), when less 

 than If inches in diameter, are not .saleable, and by thinning their 

 size are easily increased to 2J inches, or three times the size ; they 

 then bring much better prices. 



Apples are thinned from the time they are of the size of a 

 hazel nut until they are thrice as large. The ordinary rule in 

 thinning them is, after the tree is in good bearing, only leave one 

 apple to the spur, or one, or at most two, where there were bunches 

 of three to 10. 



Prunes, it is the Californian experience, need thinning to give 

 good fleshy fruit, especially when they show a tendency to overbear, 

 when they only produce fruit that, when dried, is nothing but skin 

 and seed. 



Grapes in hothouses in the cooler climate of Europe a,re 

 systematically thinned, and the careful grower, armed with a sharp 

 pair of pointed scissors, snips off the tail end of the bunches, as 

 well as the hanging wings or shoulders, and also all small and half- 

 developed berries. 'By this means the bunch assumes the shape of 

 a somewhat conical cylinder, and every berry grows to a larger and 

 more uniform size. In this country, however, where labour is so 

 dear and grapes so cheap, and where, above every other reason, the 

 mass of the consumers will give little more for grapes of extra 

 quality than they would for ordinary fruit, it is questionable whether 

 thinning grapes on a large scale and except for special purposes 

 can be recommended as profitable. In my opinion, it would be 

 better, under the conditions that obtain here, to regulate the crop 

 by proper pruning in the winter time. 



To conclude these notes on thinning fruit, it may be said that 

 the grower who allows his trees to overbear, and the stock-owner 

 alike who overstocks his run, both show an error of judgment ; 

 neither will attain the full measure of success which both might 

 well reach but for following wrong methods. 



