1922.] Inckkasinc; the Commercial Yah k of Ai'ri.Ks. 151 



extended. Much thinning is avoided if the trees are regularly 

 pruned, and (In 1 number of spurs reduced where oao ssary, as 

 already described. 



Colour.- Colour in apples is of great commercial value, parti- 

 cularly in dessert varieties. Unfortunately it is much [\ 88 under 

 the control of (he grower than is size. Certain districts are 

 noted for the high colour of the apples they produce, this being 

 the result of natural conditions of soil and climate. The soils 

 which yield cooking apples of great size and substance are not 

 remarkable, as a rule, for the colour they impart to the fruit. 

 Apples of the brightest colouring usually come from trees grow- 

 ing on lighter and drier land, which is therefore particularly 

 suitable for the culture of dessert apples. On such land neither 

 the trees nor the apples grow so big. It may be said, in fact, 

 thai conditions that make for size and growth are antagonistic 

 to high colour. We see this when comparing apples grown in 

 a cultivated plantation with those from a grass orchard on the 

 same farm. The latter are always smaller but of decidedly 

 higher colour. The same rule applies in manuring. The 

 organic nitrogenous manures used to give size tend to reduce 

 colouring. What it amounts to is this : colour comes with 

 maturity, and anything that hastens maturity or ripening gives 

 colour. Nitrogenous manures promote growth and prolong the 

 season of development, thus delaying maturity and working 

 against colour. #If any fertilisers achieve this object they would 

 be those supplying phosphates, which are well known to bring 

 about early maturity. As a matter of fact, there is no reliable 

 evidence that colour can be fed into apples, whijst there is no 

 doubt that over-stimulation with nitrogenous manures has 

 the opposite effect. 



Colour is, of course, greatly influenced by light, especially 

 sunshine. This is clearly seen from the extra colour of apples 

 on the exposed parts of the tree as compared w T ith those hidden 

 by foliage in the centie or on the lower branches. It is really 

 only by taking advantage of this knowledge that growers can 

 work to secure bright colour. There should be ample space be- 

 tween the trees, and pruning should be done with a view to 

 admitting light (o all parts of the tree, the branches being well 

 spaced and the cei fcre of the head open. In the case of coloured 

 varieties, particularly those that ripen early in the season, 

 further help towards getting a sample of uniform colour is 

 afforded by picking over the crop several times, taking the fruit 

 as it colours; for apples in the shaded parts do colour eventually. 



