34 



some fruit may be allowed at four years old, and at the fifth it can carry, if well 

 grown, a payable crop. It should be encouraged to carry as much fruit as possible 

 with all due regard to healthy top growth. A light crop and strong wood growth 

 generally means that large soft fruit liable to " pit '' will result. The tree bears 

 on both lateral and spur growth, and some laterals should always be permitted 

 1 (_) go unpruned and these should be shortened in when spurred ; these longer lateral 

 spurs give, |irotection to the tree and encoiu-age fruit development. The tendency 

 of lateral growth is to slightly check the sap flow and cause fruit development. 

 Figure 23 shows a five year old Cleopatra, and Figm-e 24 shows the same tree 

 pruned. Figvu-e 25 shows a lateral wliicli was left unpruned (it takes as a rule 

 two years to develop the spurs on an unpruned Cleopatra lateral). This is a per- 

 manent lateral carrying spurs which are multiplj'ing each year and is now seven 

 years old. The Cleopatra responds well to summer pruning of the laterals. Figures 

 26 and 27 show a nine year old tree unpruned and pruned. 



Yatca. — This A'ariety prefers a heavier clay subsoil than most varieties — a 

 subsoil which retains the moisture right through the sunxmer months, for it is a 

 very late \'ariety and makes its greatest fruit growth during the last month before 

 picking. The fruit should not be picked until it assuines a dark red coloxu' and 



Fig. 2.5. 

 A spurred Cleopatra lateral. 



a greasy skin appearance, just as the leaves begin to fall. It should then be picked 

 at once, for within two or three weeks after this period is reached the fruit begins 

 to fall badly. It is the best cold store apple grown, and improves in flavour in 

 cold store. Owing to its fine qualitj^ and long keeping it always commands a high 

 price. I do not acb'ise any grower to plant this variety largely unless prepared 

 to irrigate. It is naturally a small apple and requires forcing by manure and water 

 to grow commercially, for the fruit otherwise, as the tree ages, runs small in size. 



The Yates is very unsatisfactory on the lateral and only a few laterals should be 

 allowed up the leaders. It throws as a rule from three to five apples from each 

 Vjud ; it should therefore Vje short spurred to two buds only, and these short spurs 

 should be left at every bud from base to tip. The laterals should also be simuner 

 pruned but care shcjuld be taken not to cut them too short and thus depri-v'e the 

 tree of too much of its foliage. Most of these laterals must be oiit closer back in 

 the winter. The fruit should be thinned when the size of marbles. This is done 

 by taking the centre apple between the thumb and forefinger and rolling it over, 

 when the fruit will come away, leaving the stalk behind. As all the apples in the 

 cluster joint at the one base, the stalk must on no accomit be removed, otherwise 

 it loosens all the other apples, which are liable to fall badly. Only the centre 

 apple of a cluster is removed, because, if any of the outside ring is taken away it 

 causes all the others in the ring to fall, leaving only the centre apple. This means 



