The Fruit and the Seed. 103 



seed, coDtinue to bloom throughout the summer if the 

 flowers are persistently picked.* The yield of cucum- 

 bers, peas, beans and other garden crops, of which the 

 product is gathered immature, maj- be considerablj' in- 

 creased by preventing the ripening of seed. 



160. Overbearing Should be Prevented. Certain varie- 

 ties of some of our cultivated fruits, as the apple, plum 

 and peach, tend to devote an undue amount of their 

 reserve food to fruit and seed production in favorable 

 seasons, which if permitted, results in enfeeblement or 

 premature death. The wise cultivator guards against 

 this tendency by thinning the fruit before it has made 

 much growth, thus saving the tree from undue exhaus- 

 tion and improving the quality of the fruit allowed to 

 mature. 



Thinning should be doue as early as the fruits can be 

 properly assorted, and the more imperfect ones should 

 always be removed. The proper amount of thinning 

 will depend upon many conditions, as age and vigor of 

 tree, abundance of crop, fertility of soil, water supply 

 etc. It must be determined by judgment and experience. 



161. The Maturing of Seed injures Fodder Crops. The 

 food value of straw, from which the ripe grain has been 

 threshed, is comparatively small, and that of grass and 

 other crops intended for coarse fodder is much reduced 

 by permitting the seed to ripen before cutting. 



162. The Ripening of Fruits. Green fruits assist the 

 leaves in food preparation to some extent, but as they 

 begin to ripen, the process is reversed. Carbonic acid 

 and water are then given off, while oxygen is absorbed. 



* See foot note on page 102. 



