THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. l6l 



more air and light at the foliage and buds of the 

 shoots that are left to furnish the next crop. 



THINNING THE FRUIT. 



All peach-trees that are vigorous and the wood of 

 which has been well ripened, generally set a great 

 many more fruit than are required, and therefore 

 have to be thinned off. This operation should not be 

 completed all at once, but gradually, and not finally 

 till the fruit are stoned. As soon as the fruit have 

 swollen sufficiently to burst and throw off their flowers, 

 the first thinning should take place. Where the fruit 

 have set in 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 at- 

 tained the size of marbles, a second thinning should 

 take place, removing all the smallest ones, 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 considerably 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 are 

 young atid 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 surface. The 

 ratio of cropping should be graduated according to 

 the vigour of the trees. Those which have covered a 



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