OCR Text |
Show tKlKlliillvn; Quality of Fruit Although tho quantity of fruit now bolng produced in the United States Is less than tho growing demand, yet tho Improvement In quality Is moro ncodod than an lncrcaso in quantity, at least from tho standpoint of tho grower. At the present tlmo wo nro producing a largo percent of fruit thnt Is unmarketable because of being wormy or undor-slzcd. If on orchard-1st orchard-1st will soparato his fruit into three general lots, ono tho marketable, second, sec-ond, tho unmarketable on account oi being wormy, and third, tho unmarkot-ablo unmarkot-ablo on account of being under-sized, ho will ho astonished at tho results Tho orchards aro fow that produce n high percentage of good-sized apple entirely free from worms or scab. II Is evident to any student of orcharding orchard-ing that if wo can make all ot out fruit first class, tho receipts will b doubled for tho amount of fruit w now raise. Two general lines of pro. coduro must bo followed in tho Im proving of tho qunllty of our apples, Tho first is to get rid ot the worms and scab through spraying. This is q sclonco the value of which has beon fully demonstrated, yet wo find comparatively com-paratively few orchardlsts that hnvo yet como around to making spraying a part of their regular work, but with, out it It is ImposBlblo to check thq codling moth, or destroy the fungus of tho applo scab, which Is tho moro destructive of tho two. Tho second lino of effort must ho in tho thinning of tho fruit of tho trees so that tha fruit matured will bo of good bIzc No matter how perfect fruit may be, it it is small It brings a vory small price on any markot. An applo tree that is thinned In tlmo will produco a great a weight of largo fruit ns it would havo borno of small fruit if it had not beon thinned. Slnco as much Is produced and a hotter prlco is obtained, ob-tained, it is ovidont that tho thinning process Is a profltablo ono to follow. It docs not tako as long to pinch oft, fruit when small as It would to gather It when maturo, and tho surplus frull is worth moro out of existence than it would bo If loft to maturo and thui decrcaso tho size of all the rest ol tho fruit on tho trees. |