THE FRUIT AND THE SEED 97 



of the plant a comparatively large amount of prepared 

 food, which it stores up in a concentrated form as a food 

 supply for the embryo (54). Many plants (all annuals 

 and biennials) are killed the first time they are permitted 

 to seed freely, and perennials are often weakened by ex- 

 cessive seeding. Double-flowered varieties of the annual 

 larkspur (Delphinium), that bear no seed, have become 

 perennial. 



157. Prevention of seeding prolongs the life of plants. 

 — Many annual flowering plants, as sweet peas, dianthus 

 and the like, that soon perish when permitted to mature 

 their seed, continue 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, may be considerably in- 

 creased by preventing the ripening of seed. 



158. Overbearing should be prevented. Certain vari- 

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

 and peach, tend to devote an undue amount of their re- 

 serve food to fruit and seed production in favorable sea- 

 sons, which if permitted, results in enfeeblement or pre- 

 mature death. The wise cultivator guards against this 

 tendency by thinning the fruit before it has made much 

 growth, thus saving the tree from undue exhaustion and 

 improving the quality of the fruit allowed to mature. 



159. Thinning should be performed as early as the fruits 

 can be properly assorted, and the more imperfect ones 

 should always be removed. The proper amount of thin- 

 ning will depend upon many conditions, as age and vigor 

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

 and so on. It must be determined by judgment and ex- 

 perience. Thinning does not increase the total crop but 

 it may enhance its value. 



