November i, 1884.] TTTn TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



399 



If this is so, what disorder early priming causes? Beside 

 intruding and actually stopping all hibernation henceforward 

 so long as cad;/ pruning is followed out in coffee. 



Wintering may be carried on to the end of March, some- 

 times to the middle of April, blossom or no blossom. If 

 lost by this process, there is always four times as much 

 blossom as is required for the tree to develop into fruit. 

 Tile rest is turned into sleep by nature, and this method 

 continues the hibernation developing at one tine- all but cess- 

 ation of action, giving 2h months' repose where thert was none. 



Shrubs leaf later than large trees. In April the storage 

 of developed force will burst out, and it will be fovmd 

 that there is no great vitality that the dew is sufficient to set 

 bfiossom. However, the wintering having the reverse effed 

 of pruning, puts the blossom as far back as nature will 

 allow, a month later than if not pruned and not wintered, 

 trnd 2A months later than at present, where the pruning brings 

 ovt blossom lij month before it otherwise comes, beside which, 

 the tree gets Into a habit of blossoming early. The blossom 

 will be so abundant on these wintered trees, that it will 

 be found to come out in old primaries and the stock of 

 tin* tree, as I have seen it on eotfee over 30 years old, 

 and at a time when rain in Iudia can safely be counted 

 on after 15iA April. After June, it is simple root pruning, 

 which is very good. 



There is a superstition among planters of even great 

 experience, that blossom coming out in rain does not set. 

 There are no such rains likely to occur as could destroy 

 blossom, and my experience goes to prove, with that of 

 another planter who has carefully noted and recorded it, 

 that in healthy trees there is no harm done. It may be 

 so in sickly trees, and in Ceylon where the rainfall appears 

 so different to that* of "VVynaad and the Nilgiris. Here 

 it is not. to be feared. I have seen our best blossom set 

 in May on the Shevaroy Hills. While the tree is bursting 



* From a copy taken from a rain register carefully kept 

 by Mr. A. 0. Griffin from 1863 to 1884, and now kept 

 by his manager, Mr. Dickius. It will be clearly proved that 

 neither January, February, and March to middle of April 

 is there a semblance of a good rainfall. Average of rain for 

 22 years:— January "03 in. — For 15 years there is no rain in 

 January! February 29 in. — For 15 'years bar a fall of *07 

 and '('5, there is none in February ! March I "50 in. — For 3 

 years no rain in March, 6 gears u ruler an inch I April 3'11 in ! 

 —Nearly all the rain falls after 20th April. May 7'00 in. — 

 For 7 years the average rain in April is under 2'00 in! 

 Bar an unusual cyclone in January when 3 in. rain fell, 

 the average for 22 years is 0"18 in. For the information 

 of those it may interest I copy the table. It shows that 

 the rainfall now does not differ geuerally from that of 

 the past 22 years. Rain in January and February is like 

 rain at Aden, unaccountable when it does fall: — 



out to life will be found the best period to again strengthen 

 it, as it is a period when (/rent vital strength is necessary 

 and the additional strength afforded will endure blossom 

 to set. Indeed the planter must do all he can to aid 

 the tree, strengthen it and relieve it lit/ pkitniNi; On the 

 wintering ending by a burst of vitality the planter must 



harden his heart and enfora I, ..,/„', often to cut away 



otie-half or a third of his blossom. It is only after seeing 

 what blossom he has that he can with certainty prune tl, 

 the exact amount of crop he requires the tree' to be kept 

 l.i, as formerly it was as equally uncertain what crop //„ 

 season would produce; if a good one, he had the curse 

 of a bumper crop, injuring the trees for three yeers on 

 poor land killing them, or abundant Hushes one after'the 

 other forced out six weeks before their time, with all but 

 absolute certainty that there will be no rain but chance dews 

 to set it in. Dew is only able to set highly-manured trees 

 or those in great form. 



I have had it told me that pruning could not be done in 

 April, May, and June. My reply is, it is better not to pro,,, at 

 ixl I with present deplorable results of present si/stem. But since 

 Mr. Wiley, Hillgrove, Coouoor, has taught women to prune 

 beside which here there is plenty of intelligent labour to be' 

 got in Wynaad when the Oanarese are away in Tamils which 

 they turn up their noses at, also Ohurmas and Moplahs. 



To the experienced planter it would be presumptuous 

 to tell him how to prune, since he can do it to the cwt 

 To the less experienced I would venture to advise, 1st, 

 be sure Hint whatever blossom is here left on will all bear, 

 2nd, the tree must only have enough on it to bear with- 

 out effort the two following years the same crop. There 

 will come out an amazing storage of sap ready to mane 

 more blossom in old primaries and stock of tree likely 

 in Juue. Trees bearing 15 cwt. prune back to 10 cwt 

 or less. Cut away a third of the blossom on heavy bear- 

 ing trees — trees that have had no manure for two years 



and those on poor land, a fourth as a rule will be cut 

 off. I advocate light pruning. Prune to I,, nit bearing and 

 keep the tree in slutpe. Entirety blot out the old rule, i ■ 

 wood that has born once is not to remain on, it will 

 In,,,- again, only giving the preference to the healthiest 

 wood and simplicity of method which a cooly can follow 

 Some I have seen that the operator could not explain 

 Where there has been leaf-disease prune freely. Winter- 

 ing has the effect of developing fruit but minishing wood 

 So pruning will encourage it. Heavy pruned and early 

 pruned trees become '• dropsic I " in appearance both stock 

 and primaries with little fresh wood. Column root and 

 primary roots, the former devoid of fruit roots all thick 

 and heavy, and the latter with a few old wiry fibre roots 

 having no spongioles. The hacked victim stunned by heavy 

 early pruning but dropsical from checked sap cut down 

 with a saw obliquely 6 inches from the ground. Then cut 

 down with two cuts intersecting at centre in form of a 

 crop to a depth till the cut is 1 inch from the ground 

 or .eots. The tree will send down new tap roots and 

 send up suckers from under the ground often. Leave four 

 till the sap is fairly relieved, and one dominates Only 

 as a last men,,, ,e dig the tree out. Supplies are said 

 to be a failure. They do badly in old coffee, but the 

 following is a good plan :— A large ball plant put into the 

 pit two persons planting, one holding the ball After it 

 is planted put a ring of chisel-sharpened stakes in the 

 form of a ring, driven in touching each other 1§ foot at 

 a distance of 2J feet from plaut. This will sever th, 

 bouring plant roots, their, rotting will not signify since 'an 

 outer ring can be put at any time 6 inches from the old one 



Handling.— Do this with the knife and not with the hand ; 

 the remaining shoots are lacerated, and crop lost by pull- 

 ing off. 



Manuring.— 25 to 30 lb. of dry cattle and 12 lb. dry goat 

 manure per tree. Do not try and put less to get more done, 

 you deceive yourself and your proprietor. Manure once in 

 four years, supplementing it in the third year by bone 

 meal as much as a woman can hold in her two hands to 

 two trees. I knew an estate paying well where one piece 

 twenty-one years old, which has never had manure of any 

 kiud, only tilled. Second year winter all trees, those man- 

 ured last year only make a ring pit, leaving manure intact. 



Vaulting.— All that cannot be manured and is too steep 

 to dig 15 inches deep, dig trenches in alternate rows oblique 

 if necessary to secure easy gradient along side of hills, 



