May I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



749 



sutfer from blight of different kinds than others. It 

 cnn hardly be questioned that blight shows either weak- 

 ness in the bush, or that there is soiue extraiuous, 

 hostile, substance in that particular part of a ganlen in 

 which blight appears most severely. 



The vexed ipiestiou is, however, whether fine or coarse 

 plucking paj-s the best? Whilst weighing the/»*y^ and 

 cum one must not lose sight of what is most beneficial to 

 the bushes, and which course can be pursued the longest 

 with impunity to them. A great many li.aphazard state- 

 ments have been made on the subject ; but within the 

 last few years a good deal of valuable, reliable, inform- 

 ation has been accunndatiug. So far as we can learn, 

 the concensus of opinion leans towards coarse pluekiug, 

 as not only giving the best pecuniary result, but as 

 lasting longer, doing the bushes little or no harm. In 

 fact we have heard it asserted that gardens have 

 improved in appearance from this treatment. We are 

 not prepared, however, to .iccept this altogether; but 

 would lay before our readers the .system we have heard 

 recommended as the most eihcient, leaving to themselves 

 to judge whether it should be followed or not. In 

 former years the rule observed as closely as practicable 

 was to commence upon a six-leaf dush. taking three 

 leaves, and leaving three, from the axils of which 

 hitherto the second flush come ; when the second flush 

 attained five leaves, to take three, and leave two ; the 

 third flush proceeding from these in turn, was often 

 taken in the same way ; and in the fourthflush, as soon 

 as it attained four leaves, it was usual to leave only one 

 le,Tf on the bush. After the fifth and sixth flushes, it was 

 generally a clean sweep of everything that came out, 

 The wood thus attained would piobably, at an average 

 of two inches, give a height, for six flushes, of twelve 

 inches, which was considered sufficient to prune upon, 

 or rather to prune oil, for it was as a rule cut off say 

 three inches above the former year's pruning ; so that 

 so much was wasted that might have been made into 

 tea. 



The system we have heard recommended recently 

 and which to an outsider seems to carry some weight 

 is (luite the reverse of this. At the beginning of the 

 s..-asou insea 1 of plucking upon a .six-leaf flush, the 

 flush is allow ed to grow out to eight or nine leaves, when 

 tiiree leaves are tiken off, and the other five or six 

 leaves left on the bush are allowed to remain and ripen 

 into material for next season's pruning ; after this first 

 flush is thoroughly established, the garden is regularly 

 visited by the plucking women ouce a weak, and the 

 bush Ls completely stripped of all new leaf which has 

 shown during that time. At the beginning of the sea>ion 

 if the gro>-.th is ngorous. leaving six leaves on a bush 

 means at least nine inches in height from the place 

 where the shoot strikes out to the top of it ; as the 

 distance between the leaves is always great early in the 

 season. S ) that if we allow, say, three or four inches 

 above the former year's pruning, there still ren)ains six 

 inches of woo 1 to be cut away. ^ViDther contention 

 we have heard in favor of this system is, that allowing 

 the flush to run this way in the beginning of the season 

 . gives much cleaner wood, and that although nn the yery 

 surface there is before the end of the season a lot of 

 brushwood. Another argument is that both young and 

 old leaf being taken together, the quality of the tea 

 made is much better than if only medium leaf were 

 plucked : that the quantity is largely increased ; an.l 

 that towards the end of the sea.son the harder the 

 bushes are pinched, the harder they throw out. Our 

 tea-planter friends would do well to considi-r the subject. 

 We Jiave put the ideas we have heard before tliem. 



We could point to a good number of gardens in 

 which this system is followed and which seem to go on 

 increasing in yield, year by year. With regard to fine 

 plucking, we believe there is the great drawback that 

 the bushes never get the same foundation as in leaving 

 the firstflush as recommindcd above, and in con^ioquence 

 the conslitution ot the bnsh is. to a certain extent, 

 injured. It mi^'ht be worth the while of some of our 

 friends to experiment with two plots, alongside of one 

 another, in both instances allowing the first flush to get 

 a start, but after that plueking fine in the one case, and 

 plucking coarse, in the other. We have heard it stated, 

 but we do not know how true it is, that the loss in 



quautity in fine plucking is about 20 to 25 per cent., 

 whereas the difference in value is nothing like compens- 

 atory. It is a subject of much interest to all connected 

 with tea, and well worthy of the best consideration- 

 even one niaund per acre extra yield makes a wonderful 

 difference in the cost of production. In the tabulated 

 list in the Home and Colmiinl Mail the best paying 

 garden certainly plucks fine, but this is quite eclipsed by 

 the number of good paying gardens that pluck coarse. 

 A8.sain teas have taken :i strong lead in quality last year', 

 but shareholders have had to pay for it; which tends to' 

 prove that, for profit, quantity and not quality is the 

 thing. — Jiiiliuii Planters' Gazette. 



TEA CIU.TIVATION IN FIJI. 

 is thus noticed in the Fiji I'imes of Jany. 2.3rd: 



As uKintioned in the former Wainunu article, Masusu, 

 the plantation where Messrs. Mackinuon and Barratt 

 are now engaged in the systematic, and what is con- 

 fidently expected to prove the thoroughly successful 

 cultivation of the plant, lies on the left bank of the 

 Wainunu River, some mile and a half from its mouth. 

 The plantation was originally opened by Jlr. A. Peters 

 for Mr. Alfred Sharpe, and all preparations were made 

 to prosecute coffee cultivation on an. extensive scale. 

 But the prospects of the iudustry declined. The pro- 

 prietor entered very largely into the sugar enterprise 

 on the Navua River, the minor undertaking was aban- 

 doned, and the plantation was suhseijuently acquired by 

 its present owners as a property specially suitable for 

 tea cultivation. In arriving at this conclusion, Mr. 

 Barratt, who is an Indian tea-grower of very consider- 

 able experience, was guided, not only by the apparent 

 suitability of the soil, situation, and aspect ; but also by 

 the result of his enquiries and research as to the im- 

 portant matter of rainfall and general climatic condi- 

 tions. As these appeared favo;able the enterprise 

 was entered upon with hopeful confidence. 



The plantation, which has a splendid river frontage, 

 affording every facility for the loading and discharging 

 of small craft, embraces about 500 acres, well situ- 

 ated, easily worked, an.l with a practically inexhaust- 

 able strength of soil. This is indeed the distinguishing 

 feature of the Wainunu district. Miles on miles 

 back from the cost-line, whether the foot is turned 

 toward Yanawai on the east or Nadi on the west 

 magnificent stretches of comparatively Ibit land are 

 met with, carrying a wonderful depth of rich loose 

 soil, formed by the vegetable deposit of ages, and 

 possessing forcing <iuaUties that are attested by the 

 luxuriant growth which everywhere springs up in 

 rankest profusion. The timber supply on these prolific 

 but particularly waste lands, and particularly that lying 

 towaril Yanaw.ai is admitted to be unsurpassed in 

 any part of Fiji, and it is a planter's axiom that light 

 clearing makes poor crops, aud vire ver-a. 



It is now about two years since its proprietors 

 commenced operations, and up to the present results 

 have fully realised expectations. The greater '(lortion 

 of this time has of ni'ce.ssity been devoted to the 

 business of getting into order, to the establishment 

 anil cnltivation of the nur.series, the preparation of 

 the soil, and the setting out of the young plants. 

 But now, while this work still goes on, there is beside 

 a large area of land planted up, in which the young 

 trees look .so luxuriantly healthy that in reviewing 

 his experience, Mr. Barratt asserts that he has never 

 before seen such remarkable growth. To bring the 

 properties of the leaf to practical tesi, he recently 

 prepared a few pounds of tea from these trees. The 

 quahlies manufactured were those known to the grower 

 and trader as pekoe aud pekoe souchong, being the 

 respective product of the young leave and of the 

 intermediate class between the first quality and the 

 coav.-ci •lescriptii.n manufactured from the largest leaf 

 and known as souchong. Samples of this, the first 

 product of the estate, were recently forwarded to 

 Levuka and <luly tested by competent judges, with 

 the result that the tea was pronounced excellent, 

 its characteristics being strength, a pure flavor, and 

 a rich yi t delicate aroma. This would .seem to in- 

 dicate that Messrs. Jlackinnon and Barratt have not 



