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[david.maxwell@dal.ca]

I thank all who have posted on this;  you have been most reassuring.  It is apparent to me that what I am experiencing is quite simply an extreme biennial bearing.  Just for the record, this tree was thinned last year, although I wonder whether the comment about timing of next year's bud development may be germane: it was probably well into July before I thinned this particular tree.  It should also be noted that it is not possible to thin this tree fully, as it is on standard rootstock, growing on the bank of the LaHave River, and one simply cannot reach many of the branches. (I pick most of the fruit with a long pole with a basket on the end, but this doesn't work for thinning.)

I shall simply have to wait until next year to get my "fix" of Bramley's.  (There is absolutely nothing to match a Bramley in quality as a "cooker" - an intense apple taste which lingers on the tongue for hours after the last piece of pie has been eaten.)