Nov. I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



357 



the plant would conclude that through its whole life 

 the plant would continue to develop its straight 

 vertical stem with a fresh pair of primary branches 

 over each pair of fresh leaves. This is not, huwever, 

 what happens to the natural bush, the first crop is 

 borne on the lower primaries and these may bear 

 a small proportion of the next, but the second crop 

 will be chiefly borne on the primaries developeil 

 while the first crop is coming to maturity. The same 

 course will be followed by the third but as the tree 

 is now nine or ten feet high and the stem has not 

 gained a diameter iu proportion to its height, it 

 becomes unequal to the support of its vertical position 

 under the increasing weight of its crop and droops 

 into a curve ; one or more suckers start from the 

 point at which it leaves the perpendicular to assume 

 its functions and be in their turn supplanted. Mean- 

 time the old wood, branch and stem, gradually rot 

 uud drop oft", the plant assumes its regular regimen 

 sending out fresh suckers every year to bear subse- 

 quent crops, none of which ever attains a height ex- 

 ceeding eight feet. 



The bulk of the crops of the natural coffee bush 

 being borne at the height of from five to seven feet 

 from the surface and as wind tells disastrously on 

 them during the first few years those facts originated 

 the idea of the artificial bush iu the minds of its 

 cultivators. The advantages gained by this form were 

 that the whole growth of the plant being kept with- 

 in three feet of the surface the collection of the 

 crop could be accomplished with less than one half 

 the labour necessary to the natural tree, and the 

 bushes being all stopped at the same height, the 

 wind passes over them after the third year without 

 doing any material injury. It is likewise generally 

 held that the average crops of the artificial is greater 

 than the natural tree bears, but this is one of those 

 opinions that every one accepts but no one has brought 

 to the test of actual experiment. 



In imposing and maintaining the artificial form on 

 the coffee shrub consists the science and the art of 

 pruning. In treating of the science and the art of 

 pruning coffee, or forming and maintaining an art- 

 ificial bush I must choose my own set of circum- 

 stances, premising that only under the same conditions 

 can my system be applied in all its details. 



My elevation runs from 2000, to 3500 feet, I get 

 100 inches, more or less, of rain iu the course of the 

 year ; more in the N.-E. than, in the S.-W. Monsoon. 

 Aly .soil is a dry crumbly one rich in decayed organ- 

 ism and becomes the loser from rain from sunshine and 

 from treading on. The subsoil is a sandy and gravelly 

 loam, in which quartz predomiuates and the pre- 

 sence of lime becomes evident] on the application of 

 acids. On this laud I have planted my coffee 7x7 

 feet, I could not do justice to my trees with less 

 room. 



The first operation in the formation of an artificial 

 tree is to take off the top of the stem, but if the 

 tender stem be merely pinched off leaving the next 

 pair of primaries to their free development they 

 will in the course of two years most probably split 

 the top of the stem down to the pair next below 

 them. To avoid this the pair of branches next 

 below the topping height should be pinched off at 

 the same time. The suckers on all occasions origi- 

 nate at the highest buds left on the stem ; thus the 

 ioint immediately above the highest pair of primaries 

 left gains growth and strength to resist any pressure 

 brought to bear subsequently. This first act of ag- 

 gression, is the opening of a war with nature that 

 admits of no truce. Two, three or four suckers im- 

 mediately make their appearance and as after as they 

 are stripped fresh ones succeed them. The sap beaten 

 back by constant stripping at the top of the stem, 

 seeks an outlet in the branches the upper primaries 

 rapidly reach the same length as the lower one, and 

 the hitter begin to develop secondaries. The second- 

 aries come out iu pairs one on each side of the 

 primary with which they form an angle of 45 degrees 

 on the same horiaontal plain. The first secondaries' 

 are seldom conoplicated with irregular growth but 

 they are frequently too numerous in which case they 



must bo thinned. Mr. Wildes assumes that this is always 

 the case and proposes to remove one half of them 

 either iu alternate jjairs or alternately from each side 

 of the primary, but in the local circumstances I have 

 chosen to treat, the quick growth of the primaries, 

 assures a good length of joint and sufficient distance 

 between the secondaries to prevent crowding and much 

 less thinning f liat he recommends will generally suflico ; 

 its measure mast of course be settled by the operator 

 with the plant before him should thinning be judged 

 necessary the first year that secondaries have to be 

 dealt with or whether or not all growth within six 

 inches of the stem should be stripped and next those 

 so far out on the primai-y that their ultimate weight 

 may sink its extremity below the horizontal line at 

 which it should be maintained in the following year it 

 will generally be strong enough to hold its proper 

 position however weighted with crop. The bulk of 

 the second crop of the artificial coft'ee-bush is borne 

 on the first secondaries, and all that have borne crop 

 on the greater part of their length should be re- 

 moved as soon as possible after the last of the crop 

 is gathered and the circular clear space round the 

 stem should be enlarged to a diameter of eighteen 

 inches. 



The removal of the secondaries should be done in 

 a clean cut with a sharp knife leaving uo vestige 

 of a stump on the side of the primary. As soon as 

 the secondaries are disposed of there is a rush of 

 young wood in succession from the buds round the 

 cuts. As soon as this young growth is sufticieutly 

 advanced for selection that one shoot at each joint 

 that makes the nearest combination of approach to 

 an angle of 45 with its primary and a direction in 

 the same plain must be left and all the others 

 stripped, and should more irre^-ular wood appear in 

 the course of the season the operation should be 

 repeated as often as necessary. 



The operations of every subsequent year, are pre- 

 cisely the same as described above and may be cou- 

 veyed in a few words such as 



Strip all suckers as soon as possible after their 

 uppearancft. 



As the tree grows out enlarge the clear circle round 

 the stem till it measures two feet iu diameter. 



Out off after each crop every secondary that has 

 borne on the greater part of its length. 



Strip all superfluous and irregular wood as soon as 

 possible after it appears. 



If those directions be strictly carried out year by year, 

 there will always be sufficient regular and symmetric- 

 ally disposed secondaries, to bear the next crop ; the 

 pruning will be light and easily learned by the coolies 

 and the bushes on the soil and in the climats I 

 have mentioned will cover the whole space of seven 

 feet aud be equal to a yield of fifteen cvvt. per acre in 

 the fifth year from planting. 



Inferior soils and situations will of cour.se pro- 

 duce inferior trees and yield less crops ; and in many 

 places this system cannot be advantageously carrietl 

 out in its integrity, but the principles are the same 

 everywhere though practical modifications may be 

 required to suit local conditions. The worst case that 

 CTer came under my notice was on a place with soil 

 rather better than the average of its district tho 

 elevation run up to over 5,000 feet and a steep lay 

 boldly faced the south-west. As heavy rain fell on 

 something like three hundred and twenty days in the 

 year the soil was always ia a state of saturation. 

 In this situation the form of growth was long slender 

 primaries unable to carry the weight of their own 

 foliage and they finally grew downwards like a weep- 

 ing willow aud on reaching the ground run along on 

 the surface when cut back the growtli did not go 

 into secondaries along its whole length only throw 

 out a pair at the end. The few secondaries that did 

 grow bore crop on only a few joints and at the 

 end of the crop had always a foot of new wood in 

 front aud when cut off the growth went into ex- 

 tending old wood rather than originating new. It 

 was a case in which the conditions rendered the form- 

 ation and maintenance of a symmetric artificial coffee- 

 bush impossible and the wise course would have been 



