that more plant food will bo nan* nfactored to

that more plant food will bo nan* nfactored to the and that |th« * apples left on the tree will grow - bigger, ba redder, and be,more uniform. But more important still, the trees will be in a better condition to set fruit buds for the next year. In other worda, thinning will promote more annual cropping. Then, too, tree breakage will be reduced to a minimum.

With a crop more uniform in size and color, there will be less low-grade fruit to handle at harvest time. Time will be saved in the packing shed and packaging materials will be used to better advantage, Marketing problems will be greatly reduced.

One of the first reactions on .the part of many apple growers is that thinning costa too much. It is true that a complete thinning job by hand is time-consuming and expensive. On the other band, it must bo considered that the apples must be picked at one time or “another. In the end it ■would be a question of which picking would make the greatest return to the grower. From what has been mentioned earlier in this article regarding the many benefits obtained from thinning early in'the season, the odds are very much in favor of thinning for Virginia apple growers. Method* of Thinning * There are three ways that growers may thin their apples. In the past it has not been recommended to thin tjie crop by pruning,, but under present conditions pruning can be used to good advantage. N

Pruning has been sadly neglected In a large number of orchards in recent years. The trees have been allowed to become thick and brushy and .filled up with a large amount of drooping branches and weak fruiting wood. These drooping brStiches when in foliage act like a dense curtain and prevent the distribution and penetration of light throughout the fruit-bearing surface of the trees. It makes proper spray coverage difficult if not impossible. TT“

This drooping and weak type of fruiting wood is a millstone around the trees’ production neck. It results in alternate bearing and at the Bame time is responsible for cluttering , up packing .houses, -storages, and markets with a lot of low-grade fruit. Pruning out the weak fruit wood in a rather detailed manner will reduce the amount of small and poorly colored fruit by 25 percent without reducing yields. It will increase the rigor of the fruit wood left, conserve plant foods and encourage more annual formation of fruit buds, light is very important in coloring of fruit. Removing downgrowing branches and weak fruit wood throughout and all ove# the bearing surface will provide more and better light to all parts of the

spray equipment and new spray chemicals requires a change in pruning methods in order that adequate epray coverage be obtained in all parts of the tree and to cut down on waste of expensive spray chemicals.'The method of thinning through pruning can be accomplished without' the danger of running the risk of additional damage to crop sets from lata spring frosts. It does not require a separate and distinct orchard operation, /t a little extra cost it makes s direct hit on the lowgrade fruit problem.

A second, method of thinning apples is by dinitro and harmone chemicals. Their use is on the increase. Studies and experience in