39« 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1884. 



most valuable journal) a letter by auother writer as per^note. 

 It is, however,' necessary to make this statement to bring 

 the matter home to all of us. Early pruning as has been 

 before said first wakes the tree up from its natural period 

 of rest after crop. So as soon as a coffee tree begins to bear 

 it has no chance of hibernating, which if not allowed in 

 tropical climates, the tree stays of itself from bearing 

 " fallows " if so inappiopreate a word will give my mean- 

 ing: persisting in it is nowproductiveness. 



Non-productiveness and Leaf-Di-ease : their Antidote by Till- 

 aye* — Take an estate fairly situated on average good land, 

 good planting, on either a high or low elevation. The 

 crop will be picked, and it is to be hoped the (/round care- 

 fully c/leaned on cart of the estate by the middle of .Janu- 

 ary. Give a cooly a " koikut,''f a sharp pruning knife, 

 and two sticks, one 8 feet long and sharpened at the 

 end, the other, three feet long and forked at one end 

 and pointed at the other. On the lower side the coffee 

 tree, place the 8 foot stick underneath the branches, 

 resting one end on the ground, lift the other, at the 

 same time pressing the point obliquely into the ground. 

 Support the lifted end by the forked stick, placing it, 

 so that it shall resist the greatest thrust of the branches, 

 so leaving a space for the man to work under. With the 

 koikut he will scrape off all the surface soil, and pick 

 the earth away, till the the main roots appear, between 

 these he will pick the earth till other roots are exposed, 

 excavating a space 3 feet square and about 9 inches deep. 

 The first sap roots, if any, he lightly clip the ends. I 

 mean the collar roots growing out of the stock-column 

 of the tree and are found by experience to be the best 

 for manuring, if they may not be really designated as liter- 

 ally the special "fruit sap boots," as it is singular to 

 notice their absence in trees that have stopped bearing. 

 My experience and careful observation over many years, 

 in singularly fortunate occasions, where roads and water- 

 ways have been cut through fields of coffee (I have often 

 gone several miles to notice it on other estates as well 

 as my own) I believe them to have this special function. 

 Myself, the late Oapt. Godfrey, and also Col. Scott (who 

 is a most successful planter wherever he opens up). 

 We all put the manure mixed with earth about the collar 

 roots, since it also got at the ends of the roots to the 

 spongioles, leading naturally first up the tree and so first as 

 in Europe setting blossom; afterward the thin abundant 

 leaf sap came up and set leaf. The late Capt Godfrey 

 manured in the dry spring, when others were busy prun- 

 ing, on about 100 acres, he had alternate years from GO to 

 80 tons. On one spot of 17 acres he showed me, he gathi n A 

 40 tons in one seaso/i. His nephew, the owner of Ambly 

 Mulla, Mr. Sinclair, can also prove it: it is difficult to 



* I began wintering and gaulting (a) in 1874. In 1870 1 

 showed a copy of this paper to my friend T. Ferguson of 

 Hinde & Co., of Calicut and London, and the late James 

 Gordon of Boyd & Co., Moorgate St., London, when at home. 

 The latter thought highly of it. The former expressed 

 no opinion. 



f This tool' is used 

 by the natives of the 

 Salem District, Mad- 

 ras Presidency, for 

 weeding their fields. 

 The hoe is set at such 

 an angle to the " eye" 

 to receive handle, as 

 keeps the hoe directly 

 in the curve of the 

 stroke, consequently 

 giving each blow its 

 greatest force: of coun- 

 try iron a blacksmith 

 makes 6 per day. 



Length of blade 7 

 inches, breadth 1§ 

 inch ; about H lb. or 

 less in weight. 



Gai lt.— A series of beds of day and marl. title geological posi- 

 tion of which is between the upper and lower gTeen Band, 

 E.ig.]— Lyell. 



credit— I do. As Dr. Trimen informed me, it would take 

 great care in observation, even many cases to prove it. 

 My experience since 1860 has proved it to me, and without 

 doubt it is the most suitable place, putting manure to the 

 sides of roots is like putting oil to the side of wick with 

 the fibre end sealed up. Let the doubting try this. We 

 know that there will be a difference, nature adapts itself 

 to man's want of knowledge, and make roots at sides : this 

 is why their spring manuring is slow in effect. 



I- should be glad to see the able writers take up this 

 question in Ceylon, so I look for valuable experiences ami 

 opinions based on them, for or against what I state. I 

 shall desiguate them fruit sap roots. These as I said 'if 

 any) will have their ends clipped. Should there be none, 

 a shaped incision on the column will induce their growing 

 if done only .skin deep. Parasite roots will come away with 

 the hand.* Alternate secondary roots will be cut off from 

 the large primary roots alternately. 



If the weather is windy, hot dry with sun, leave the 

 roots exposed till the old leaves fall off or are ready to drop 

 and the new leaf and wood is limp, and all but withering, 

 The wintering must be so complete that an absolute cess- 

 ation of action must exist as is produced by winter in high 

 latitudes. There will be local, and atmospheric circum- 

 stances that will cause longer wintering, altitude, shade, 

 cloudy weather, rain &c. The planter need feel no plarm. 

 Those that die (if any) he will be well rid of,f since 

 they never would give a paying crop, somthiug being 

 wrong with their tap-roots. The shortest time will be ten 

 days' exposure. After the full signs of withering show 

 themselves, apply manure as dry as the soil on the land. 

 It is done quickly by placing it on the field in convenient 

 parts sufficient for its area. I apply 301b. to a tree — 

 more on this will follow, but it will be sufficient here to 

 say, that the manure will be mixed with its bulb of earth, 

 and placed about the collar "fruit roots," and the earth 

 covered in, care being taken to place all roots as much 

 in their former place as possible. Shola earth or bone 

 meal. If nothing cover in as above. It will be found that 

 tins wintering is so beneficial that until a crop has been 

 borne, there mil be no perceptible difference between that 

 manured and that not.i 



Only well-planted trees will take kindly to wintering, 

 since their tap root and ends of primary roots will be 

 all that keep checked life in them. It has been noticed 

 here and in Ceylon, after a 'dry season good crops have followed, 

 the plants got partial rest. Why and how this cessation of 

 action develops or affects fruit sap I do not presume to 

 know. At present I can only think that early pruning 

 disarranges sap by inducing the Mow of wood sap to re- 

 place wood cut off l.y early pruning; so reversing the order 

 of nature, since the fruit sap should firsi rise The tree is 

 not only disturbed, but the large feme of wood sap defects 

 and carries v/p the lesser in bulk fruit sap, thereby mixing 

 with it on its way up. As before said, in high latitudes 

 the fruit sap conies up first ami sets the blossom on the apple, 

 cherry, plum, tee., come first, aftekward the leaf. 



* In 1873 I found so many parasite roots in trees covered 

 with leaf-disease in October, that I thought the disease 

 was caused by the exhausting effect of them (?); the trees 

 had heavy crop aud were manured 30 lb. to a tree in 

 the spring, pruned in January and February. 



f One year in the Shevaroys there was no rain but a 

 few cents from end of October to middle of May in the 

 former year. 



{ Though the above system is new to coffee in Munzer- 

 abad, Coorg, Wyuaad, Nilgiris, Travancore, Ceylon and 

 Brazil, &c, &c, I do not presume to put it forward as 

 original or any other part of my system, say gaulting, 

 which has been in use in Europe for over 100 years, and 

 wintering has been applied to fruit trees brought from 

 temperate climates to half-tropical or those of half-tropical 

 to tropical climates to enforct bearing when otherwise they 

 would not. This will I trust recommend it the more to 

 those owning coffee or having extensive and important 

 trusts for others aud I trust specially to the few remain- 

 ing pioneers, the fathers of the enterprise in Ceylon. To 

 such old planters living and departed respect and vener- 

 ation is due. No one feels it more than I do, who though 

 entirely differing from the system they introduced. It 

 was the first evolved, bringing order out of chaos. 



