THINNING OF FRUIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21036, 21 November 1931, Page 8 (Supplement)

THINNING OF FRUIT.

NEED FOR ATTENTION.

As soon as the fruit lias properly set and nature has done its part in relieving tlie tree of some of its burden, there is almost certain to be some trees that have set more fruit than the trees can properly develop and mature. In such cases, careful and judicious thinniilg of the fruit is really economy, for if allowed to be overburdened they not only produce fruit of inferior quality, but the energies of the trees are so overtaxed and their growth so checked that little or no fruiting material is - provided for the following season's crop. In almost every garden or orchard will be found some trees that would be benefited Uy a certain amount of thinning. Inferior fruit in any case, is no longer in demand, so that whether grown for market or for home consumption the main object of the growers should be to produce only the best. In thinning, the condition of the trees, the treatment bestowed and their capabilities must bo carefully considered. Healthy, vigorous grooving varieties, for instance, can carry and mature more fruit without their energies being unduly taxed, than trees that were overburdened with fruit last season. OBTAINING THE BEST FLAVOUR. The full flavour of any fruit can only be obtained from well-grown, fully-developed and ripened fruits. Neglect in thinning is, in most instances, confined to amateur growers, the commercial orcbardist having long learned that inferior fruit is no longer of value for market purposes. In private gardens the object should be to obtain trie finest and best-flavoured fruit, so that in thinning the spirit of moderation should be considered in arriving at a decision as to the quantity of fruit the tree should be allowed to carry. In this, the condition of the trees and their capabilities should be studied. APPLES AND PLUMS. With such fruit as apples, especially of any useful cooking varieties, there need be little or no waste, as they can be thinned as soon as they have attained a useful size and use for culinary purposes. By judicious thinning in this way it allows the fruit left on the trees to develop to their full size. Trobably in no case is thinning more necessary than with the Japanese plums. Many of these set far more fruit than they can possibly mature, and if allowed to hang, produce fruit of such inferior quality as to be quite useless for either culinary or table use. If they are thinned early, leaving only what the trees can properly develop and ripen, the flavour of many is quite equal to many of the European varieties, while their cropping capabilities are always more certain. WINDOW BOXES. The present is a suitable time after the different varieties of bulbs are over to replenish the window boxes. Various annuals and other plants may be utilised for the purpose. Pelargoniums, partly grown and coming into flower, are excellent plants for window gardens. The zonales, regal and decorative, and representatives of the ivy-leaved section, are favourite flowering plants. Other subjects may include fuchsias, Cuphea platycentra, cacti, fibrous-rooted begonias, dwarf cannas with bronze foliage, verbenas, echeverias, lantana Chelsea gem, gazanias, Abutilion vexillarium, Vittadenia, Polygonum repens, mesembryanthemums, gerberas, etc. §»