136 How to Thin Frutt. 
one is fully assured by local experience of the habit of the variety 
under treatment. Reduction of the amount of fruit itself is, 
therefore, the only safe proceeding, and this should not, as a 
rule, be undertaken until the first drop, through lack of pollina- 
tion, has taken place. Even at greater theoretical loss of en- 
ergy to the tree, it is better to err on the side of thinning a little 
too late than too early in order to secure the fullest assurance 
possible of the permanent burden which the tree assumes. 
Where spring frosts are likely to occur they afford additional 
reason for delay. If surety of the local conditions comes before 
the pits harden in the young fruit it is fortunate for the tree, but 
even after that it is till a greater saving to the tree and assurance 
of profit to the grower to reduce the fruit to a proper amount 
than to permit overbearing. 
The Practise of Thinning.—If the tree has not been sufficiently 
relieved of an excess of bearing wood during the winter pruning 
and has made a very heavy set of fruit, thinning with the shears 
by cutting out whole spurs or short bearing shoots, or even 
shortening in longer limbs, cutting always to a lateral when 
possible, is of no appreciable injury to the tree. After all the 
shear-work possible is done, the spacing of the fruits on the 
twigs and branches must be provided for. This was done in 
early days by beating the tree with a pole, and some still main- 
tain that they can use the pole to advantage. The almost uni- 
versal practise, however, is to use the hand in plucking or push- 
ing off the small fruit. This is done very quickly by experienced 
workmen. If the trees are low, as they should be, most of the 
work can be done from the ground. It is best to work in verti- 
cal spaces and take all.that can be reached from top to bottom 
without changing position; then move a step or two and take 
another vertical strip, and so on. 
The distance which should be left between specimens de- 
pends upon conditions. It is as unsatisfactory to thin by rule 
of inches as it is to prune by such a rule. The space to each 
fruit depends upon the kind, the age, vigor and strength of the 
tree, the size and thrift of the lateral or spur which carries the 
fruit, the moisture supply, the richness of the soil, etc. It also 
depends upon what use is to be made of the fruit, because it is 
possible to have some fruit which is too large for certain de- 
mands, though this objection does not often arise. The strength 
of the shoot is perhaps the most easily appreciable factor. 
With peaches, for instance, a shortened lateral one-eighth of an 
inch in diameter should only carry one peach, while one one- 
quarter of an inch in diameter might mature four good large 
fruits. It would evidently be wrong to work for an arbitrary 
inch-distance on all sorts of shoots, and it will be seen to be just 
