THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. l6l 



clusters of twos and threes, remove them all but the 

 best-formed and largest fruit, those that are placed 

 on the under sides of the shoots, and those that are 

 very near to the wires, and that would not get room 

 to swell if left. When the fruit have attained the size 

 of marbles, a second thinning should take place, removing 

 all the smallest fruit, and those that are nearest the top 

 and the bottom parts of the bearing shoot — leaving 

 the largest about the middle of them. Although I 

 have never experienced very much dropping of the fruit 

 in the process of stoning, it is always best to leave con- 

 siderably more at the second thinning to be removed 

 after they have completed the formation of the stones. 

 Then the final thinning should take place. The weight 

 of crop must be regulated by several considerations: 

 if the trees ure young and show a tendency to make 

 too strong a growth, then it is best to crop rather 

 heavily, say a fruit to every 6 or 7 square inches of sur- 

 face. The ratio of cropping should be graduated accord- 

 ing to the vigour of the trees. Those which have 

 covered a considerable allotted space, and that are in 

 what may be termed good bearing condition, should not 

 be taxed so heavily. If fine fruit are required, a fruit to 

 every 10 or 12 square inches is sufficient. Of course 

 their distribution may be unequal, and it is desirable 

 that on the lower branches — stretching more at a 

 right'angle with the stem — the fruit should not be so 

 thick as on the central parts of the trees, which have a 

 tendency to become over vigorous at the expense of the 

 lower ones. 



