386 THE FRUIT GARDEN. [Mat. 
of bearing any tolerable quantity of fruit the ensuing season, or 
perhaps ever after. 
Therefore let them now be thinned, leaving only a good, mode- 
rate, regular crop on each tree, and the sooner it is done the bet- 
ter, both for the trees and remaining fruitj always leaving the best 
placed and most promising. 
The young fruit that are thinned off are excellent for tarts, &c. 
particularly the apricots, but the others are also very good for that 
purpose. 
Some people will consider this a very disagreeable task, both on 
account of casting away so many fruit, which they might think 
would do very well, and also on account of the time spent in per- 
forming the workj but this is a mistake, as the loss in number will 
be more than repaid by the size, flavour, and excellence of the 
remaining fruit; and besides, the trees will be preserved in health 
and vigour for the production of future crops. 
This thinning should not be confined only to wall and espalier 
trees, but ought to be extended generally, and for the same reasons, 
to all your standard peach, nectarine and apricots, but more parti- 
cularly to such as are young. 
When trees are suifered to bear a superabundant crop, the extra- 
ordinary efforts made to support their too numerous offspring, often 
so exhaust them, as to bring on diseases, of which several do not 
recover, at least for two or three years. 
Protecting Cherries from Birds. 
As soon as your cherries begin to ripen, hang up nets before the 
wall trees, and cast some over the espaliers, supporting them with 
sticks or branches at a sufficient distance to prevent the birds from 
reachino; the fruit. Likewise, the castino; of laro;e nets over stand- 
ard cherry trees will prevent the depredations of birds. 
Cleaning the Fruit Tree Borders. 
The borders where wall and espalier trees grow should be kept 
remarkably clear from weeds, for these not only appear disagree- 
able and exhaust the nourishment, but afford harbour for snails, 
slugs, and other crawling insects, to the detriment of the fruit. 
Therefore, when weeds appear in these parts, and where there is 
room to admit of hoeing between any crops that are growing on the 
borders, let a sharp hoe be applied to them on a dry day, by which 
you may stop their progress, and as soon as hoed, rake oft' all the 
weeds and rubbish, leaving a clean smooth surface. 
Insects. 
At this season, insects will probably appear on some of your fruit 
trees, when that is the case, there should be immediate means used 
for their destruction, before they increase and become numerous. 
See page 334. 
