622 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February i, 1883. 



souchong leaf). If these are brought in in any num- 

 ber, much damage ia done, especially to youug tea. 

 When to pick a flush must be determined accord- 

 ing to the state of the bushes with regard to pruning, 

 the weather, climate and even aspect, or lay of land, 

 and, to do this properly, constant and careful watch 

 ing is nece-^sary. It often happens that two fields 

 on the same estate have to be treated diflfirently in 

 this respect It must be borne in miud that the 

 main object is to get in the flush before it has time 

 to hai'den, and yet not punish the trees more than 

 necessaiy by taking the shoots too yung. 



A tree that h.ns been heavily pruned should not be 

 touched till the new shoots have attained a height 

 of from 10 to 12 inches and show signs of throwing 

 nut lateral (or side) shoots. The shoots that spring 

 fioui the centre of a pruned tree or anywhere from 

 near the ground may have their leaves taken, but 

 they should not be topped_ till they have reached 

 the level of the upper shoots, the object being to 

 obtain a large flushmg surface as soon as possible, 

 and also to preserve these shoots, the largest and 

 finest of which will be needed the following year to 

 supply the place of any old wood that has to be 

 cut away in pruning. If we begin to pick a newly 

 pruned tree at lU inches, we can take the next flush 

 at 8, th' 11 6, 4, o, and Anally .all wb can get till 

 the knife has to be again applied. In other words, 

 if the shoots of a ne«ly-prnned tree begin to harden 

 at 14 inches, the next flush would probibly harden 

 at 12, the next at 10, and so on, till 3 inches 

 is the largest succulent shoot to be seen on 

 the bushes, and we ■ must regulate our pick- 

 ing acco'dingly, but even this rule is liable to 

 vary on account of climate and weather. Hence I 

 find it ne?essary here to pick closer duiing the cold 

 nights aud wet suuless days of December-January 

 than during t le more genial weather of the follow, 

 ing mtmths, though no pruuing has been doue in the 

 meantime. In thefe and similar effects of climate and 

 weather the planter miiet use his own jmlgment. 



Croiu's feet is a term applied to bunches of twigs 

 formed at the end of the branches by successive 

 pickings. If these appear in any number early in I he 

 yea-, it denotes too close picking, which is injurious, 

 esppcially to young bushes ; but (doue as it is by 

 women and boyi", many of whom are untrained hands) 

 this cannot always bs prevented, and where crow's 

 feet do appear in any number (say in Deceinber- 

 Jauiiary, the trees having been pruned in July) it is 

 aflvisiible to give a second light pruning ; that is, send 

 a gang with sharp pruning knives to cut off only the- 

 crow's /t' I, tbe result being larger and stronger flushes 

 during March, April and May — by far the best flush- 

 ing months in the year (so far as I have yet seen 

 of Ceylon), at least for high elevation — and our aim 

 should be to have the bushes in the best flushing 

 condition for those months, which they will not be 

 if previously covered with crows' feet. Now for a 

 few words in reply to the questions of your cor- 

 respondent " Uiscipulus," whose letter appeared in 

 jours of 19th instant. 



1st — Your correspondent will find that 10 square 

 feet is the least he can allow in a wet district for 

 everi/ lb. of green leaf, if he wishes it to witlier evenly 

 and well : from 12 to 14 feet are bettei-, if he can 

 spare it. Artificial withering should always be avoided, 

 if possible, as apart from the loss of tips (of whicli 

 your correspondent coinplaint*) the iiieans employed 

 generally prevent the roll from taking a proper fer- 

 mentation (the bright new penny colour so much 

 prized by brokers being a diflicult thing to obtain 

 at all times and al-noet impossible with art'ficially 

 withered leaf). Where artitioial withering is ?(,pce.ssra)'^ 

 the following is the best way of doing it. Collect a 

 heap, say 60 or SO lb., on a mat on the floor ; then 



make two or three men toss it up and chip witht he 

 hands till it becomes slightly bruised ; then let the 

 coolies collect as much as they can hold in their 

 arms aud roll it (gently at flrst, still on the floor), 

 employing the same motion as that used in proper 

 rolling but using their chest and arms to keep the 

 leaf together. This should be coutiuued till tlie leaf 

 has become quite soft aud ' wet if now spread toler- 

 ably ; then for an hour or two it will roil without 

 breaking ; take a f.airly good twist and with the ex- 

 ception that the tips will be lost by reason of the 

 excess of juice discolouiing the down on them and 

 making the tip black will make very good tea .nd 

 ferments even better than well-withered leaf, as the 

 roll contains more moisture. 



As regards bangy (or hardened shoots), anyone who 

 will think for a moment why a tea bush goes on 

 flushing month after mouth and even twice a month 

 will see the advantage of removing these loaves, but 

 as they are chiefly caused by careless picking (be- 

 ing flush), attention to this operation will greatly 

 reduce their number. There is probably no cult- 

 ivated plant or tree in the world that receives such 

 rough and .innatural treatment as the tea tree. If 

 left to itself the te* tree (which we keep down to 

 a bush) would flush but once or at the most ttdce 

 a year, as we bee all other trees do. The new shoot 

 would run up to a certain height, then rest to harden 

 the new wood made and wait for the next genial 

 (or spring) weather to make a fiesh start upwards. 

 The constantly recurring flushes are but the continual 

 strugglings of the bush to repair the damage done 

 by the hind of mnn in picking and pruuing: hence 

 it is obvious that by removing bangy leaves the 

 next flush will not only be increased but also hast- 

 ened. For the same reason, if we lose a flush by 

 allowing it to harden, we virtually lose two or three, 

 simply because nature having for once had her own 

 way the tree takes a rest, but though it is ruinous 

 to lose a flush oS' mature trees it is sometimes ad- 

 visable to allow a flush to harden on youug bushes, 

 as it enables them to gain strength aud develop, 

 and the present loss will be more than compeusated 

 for by the enormous increase in subsequent flushes. 

 In any case young trees should never be picked so 

 close as mature ones. 



Sunday work ni.ay be avoided, but it is sometimes 

 very inconvenient to lose the day, as no picking 

 can be done on Saturday, aud thus two daj's are lost, 

 and if » day or so has already been lost from bad 

 weather (or other cause) it becomes a very serious 

 matter with a large flush on and perhaps short hands. 

 It is certainly possible to keep Saturday's leaf till 

 Monday, and if not spread too thick aud in a cool 

 place and kept turned it will keep tolerably fresh 

 and sweet, but as a rule leaf that has taken longer 

 than 30 hours to wither gets a stale, disagreeable 

 smell, which is easily detected in the aroma of the 

 infused leaf and also iu the taste of the liquor and 

 is known to the trade as mawkish tea. 



I shall be happy to give from time to time through 

 your columns any iulormation regarding the cultivation 

 and different processes in the manufacture of tea to the 

 best of my ability : that is, if no abler pen than mine 

 will take up the task. But I trust that no one abler 

 to give it will allow themselves to be deterred 

 from coming forward with useful information and 

 disinterested advice by any hostile criticism, whether 

 it spriugs from envy, spite, op mere scepticism. Toose 

 who have smsiU tea estates in bearing can easily t,est 

 the value of the .iilvice given and if th>-y will tiien 

 publish the result the facts will speak for theniselves. 

 But apart from this, it is of the greatest importance 

 that planters shouhl assist each other all that lies 

 in their power, both by visits aud a free interchange 

 of opinions and exchange of samples. Only let them 



