804 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 
portion before the flowers upon it have opened, it 
was hoped that there might be a larger, and better 
fruit produced upon the remaining portion of the 
cluster. 
“In the experiment, alternate bushes in a row 
were treated with the scissors, and in passing it 
may be said that this method of thinning can be 
done rapidly. When the fruit was ripe, the whole 
product from an average bush, of the clipped and 
of the unclipped plants, was picked and spread out 
upon tables. Judges ignorant of what had been done 
were then called in to inspect the results. No one 
failed to notice at once the difference, and all pro- 
nounced in favor of the fruit that had been treated. 
The berries were larger and of more nearly uniform 
size and ripeness. Two hundred berries were next 
removed from the uncut clusters, and it required 
thirty-five clusters to furnish this number. They 
weighed, clear of all stems, one hundred and _ fifty- 
two grams. The same number, furnished by thirty 
clipped clusters, weighed one hundred and sixty-three 
grams. These results show that there were about 
15 per cent more berries to the cluster upon the 
eut plants than upon the ordinary ones, and that 
these berries were about 7 per cent heavier. The 
question of quality was only determined by tasting, 
but there was no doubt in the minds of the judges 
that the thinned elusters bore fruit of the finest 
flavor. Like all other fruit, currants sell somewhat 
upon their appearance, and there is no mistake that 
from the uniform size and ripeness of the fruit and 
