October r, 1883. J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



277 



I i list all trailing side-branclies should of course be 

 it: off, it is fvident chat any shortening of healthy 

 laterals is a cm-tailment of the size of the bush, 

 that is, of its pluckinf surface. For soms years in Cuylou 

 we wereiu the habit of cutting our hybrid bush at 2' 6" and 

 over, never under (exceptional circumstances apart) and 

 were thus enabled to get a large plucking surface at this 

 height and this system, graphically described by Mr. Arm- 

 strong, is the one I most strongly advocate and have 

 always practised. When the late Mr. Cameron took up his 

 work here, he changed this method in all the estates under his 

 management, and introduced a severe cutting down system. 

 Now the effect of cutting down young bu.shes, and at 

 present I am confining my remarks to these, is to imme- 

 diately induce a rush of wood supported by all the youth- 

 ful vigour of the tree ; if this is allowed to grow up, a 

 new tree will be formed and will be supported by the mass of 

 foliage on the new growth. If however this is plucked and kept 

 at a low level, sufficient foliage is not maintained to nourish 

 the tree and promote a healthy growth of root and stem. 

 The only chcumstances undix which low pruning, stick 

 pruning as it is called, is resorted to, is to remedy the effects 

 of injudicious plucking and pruning on old worn-out bushes. 

 In one case only did I sec this plan resorted to in India. 

 An old piece of tea, the U25per branches of which had 

 got gnarled and hard was cut down to within one foot 

 of the ground, the growth which succeeded was however 

 allowed to attain a height of 2 feet, to mature in fact, 

 before it was touched. This remedy would of course 

 never have been necessary ; the trees could never have got into 

 this condition, had a proper system of selecting wood and cut- 

 ting out all that had got hard and unprofifciblc, been followed 

 out at the yearly prmiing. With young tea, however, the gi-eat 

 point is easy treatment, if a permanently profitable bush is 

 required ; and in succeeding years, with proper scientific 

 pruning, cutting down should never be necessary. Mr. 

 Ai'mstrong has laid down a few concise rules on the subject, 

 which all should studj' carefully and follow consistenlly.and I 

 will not attempt to confuse matters by giving a repetition of 

 his advice in other words. China tea has, of course, to be 

 pruned in a very different way to Assam hybrid : the former 

 is a bush, the latter a tree, and as such they have to be 

 treated. 



The style of Pluddng depends greatly on the pruning 

 which has preceded it, on the type of plant, on the climate, 

 and so on. In this work again, Mr. Cameron introduced a 

 new system, very different to that which we had always 

 followed previously. It is generally considered that the 

 point of his system was the plucking of the whole estate in 

 eight days, but this is scarcely correct. The perfection of 

 work theoretically would be a round of the estate at even a 

 shorter interval ; the point is, what is the description of 

 shoot allowed to be plucked at each round ? "We might go 

 round the estate every week taking shoots with five leaves 

 and not less, or we might, at similar intervals, take a leaf 

 and a bud as oiu' minimum, and both would be weekly 

 pluckings. In India the system of severe pruning and close 

 plucking in question has been tried aud was discarded years 

 ago as being fatal to the well-being of the ti-ee. The 

 matter was made a subject of discussion by me with several 

 of the leading Indian planters, and in every case the 

 system was condemned iu the most unqualified way as being 

 a very seductive one, giving fine strong teas and a good 

 immediate yield, but as being absolutely fatal to the lutvu'e 

 of tlie plant. Now, the fact of the system having been 

 such a fatal one in India has been stated by many — aud 

 I believe Mr. Cameron did not deny this himself — ^but it is 

 maintained that iu Ceylon circumstances are different, aud 

 that the system, thouqih a failure there, will succeed lierc. 

 I uphold that in Oeylou an easier style of working the tree, 

 one A'hich draws less upon its energies, is essential for its 

 well-being, aud for this there are good and sound reasons. 

 With a very vigorous growth, conctutrated so to speak into 

 a few months, such as they have in India, severe plucking 

 will, it is reasonable to suppose, be answered by deter- 

 mined eft'orts on the part of the tree to form wood : this is 

 the case, but the result of the treatment is that the tree 

 wears itself out in a few years, sulks and has to be allowed 

 a rest before it can be made to yield again, whilst liberal 

 ai)pliCjjtions of manure are required (in one case, and I here 

 alludi.' to the Chittagong estate which Mr. Cameron was in 

 charge of, a year's rest was necessary after two or 

 36 



three years of this treatment.) If this is the case iu Indiaj 

 is it not. reasonable to suppose that thf? same system, 

 estended over the long llushing period of Ceylon bushes, 

 with the less vigorous growth which accompanies th'jm, 

 should have an even more fatal effect? I cannot think 

 there can be two opinions on the point, and from what I 

 have seen of the rcsujts of the system in the low country and 

 in the hills too, I feel convinced that disappointment is iu 

 store in the futiu-e for those who continue to take too 

 much out of their bushes by hard plucking following the 

 severe pruning. I have seen stretches of tea in the Ceylou 

 low-country, after a few weeks' dry weather, looking as 

 if a fire had run over them where Rlr. Cameron's system 

 of plucking has been strictly adhered to. It is obvious 

 that unless sufficient leaf surface is left on each shoot, the 

 circulation of sap cannot be maintained, and hence on the 

 occurrence of the first trjing weather the whole shoot, on 

 which depends the crop, and on the vigour of which de- 

 pends the quality of our pruning wood for the succeeding 

 year, is irremediably ruined. Just as we must treat our 

 young trees easily, by toppiug them at first at 3ft to 3ft. Gin., 

 with a view of preserving the foliage on which their rigour 

 and health depends, so must we throughout the season, 

 ■ and until the last few pluckings when less care is required, 

 systematically leave a sulficieucy of leaf-surface on the shoots 

 that are yielding us oiu- flushes. In plucking as in prun- 

 ing, Mr. Armstrong and I are advocating no new system, 

 wo are simply maintaining the one which we, with Mr. 

 Taylor and others, have always consistently followed, and on 

 which h.ave attended results which, as ajicrmanenci/, wUl be 

 yielded by no other in India or Ceylon. 



There is another point in which some difference of ojiiu- 

 ion appears to exist. 1 refer to the Plucking of the sides 

 of the bushes. In view of the principle previously enun- 

 ciated, that yield depends in plucking surface, it is evident 

 that this practice is a bad one, aud injurious to the growth 

 of young trees. Under certain circumstances, it may be 

 indulged iu, but I have seen it practised and advocated 

 in Ceylon where its effects could not but be injurious in 

 the estrem rt There are places where young tea so treated 

 is seen dotted at intervals over the ground, instead of 

 covering the hillside with trees, visible as such even after 

 pruning, and I have even seen ! an endeavour made to 

 cure the defective yield by siipp yiny what ought to be 

 a sufficiently closely planted field. Tlie effects of this 

 treatment, justly deemed mm-derous by Mr. Armstrong, are 

 so obvious that it is strange they are not apparentto _ every 

 one. Coming from Indian tea, they strike me forcibly. 



In respect of M.^xuking there is nothing of importance 

 to be learnt in India, and we shall have to gain our own 

 experience. In some cases no doubt manure is applied, 

 but these seem very exceptional. There is one more im- 

 portant point to be mentioned, the Extension of Tea 

 cultivation in India as affecting our future prospects. An 

 influential firm iu Calcutta is now engaged in the most 

 extensive opening operation in Cachar and the Dooars. 

 I forget at the moment how many thousand acres are to 

 be put into tea within a few years, but the extent is 

 cou.^iderable. In Lower Assam aud in D.arjiling, it is 

 difficult if not impossible to get land, all that is available 

 having been taken up long ago ; but iu other districts the 

 openings are very extensive. I do not think however we 

 need be afraid of this competition. At present prices, it 

 is only by severe economy that good dividends are paid 

 by Indian Companies, whilst we can well afford to pro- 

 duce tea and gain a fair profit, even should a fall of 

 2d per lb on the present market rate have to be faced. 



In this ease, I do not vrishto make a statement without 

 ample proof in the form of facts and figures to support 

 it. Mr. Armstrong has here again forestalled me by 

 showing that at his figures a nett price of Is in Colombo, 

 or say 60 cents, is equivalent to a profit of E120 per acre, 

 or, without manure expenditure, Ria2 per acre. Now, our 

 present sale prices are showing averages of from Is .3d to 

 Is yd and over, well made teas rarely averaging under 

 Is 4d. A fall of 2d per lb. therefore would still le.ave a 

 margin of profit which should be sufficient for any pro- 

 prietor. Now let us see bow such a fall would affect 

 Indian Companies. The Borelli f company gave 8 per cent 

 last year with a profit of Z^A per lb ; JorehautS per cent 

 at 1 j'd per lb ; Doom-Doomca, 5 percent at IJd per lb. The 

 Darjiling Companies at an average price of Is 3Jd gave 



