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thoroughly the whole field. The ploughing is so done that each 

 cut of the plough throws the earth towards the tree, so as to pro- 

 tect the cut ends of the roots with the fine dirt thrown by the next 

 cut. The ploughs have new soclvs every six days to ensure clean 

 and deep cutting when the above work is being done (ordinarily 

 only every fourteen days are they changed). 



The trees are in the meantime gone over with a gang of women 

 under two headmen ; all infested leaves that are bad are cut off with 

 the scissors, and those with scale insect scrubbed by hand with 

 small pieces of bagging dipped in warm soap or kerosene emulsion 

 — branches also scrubbed. 



All the inner branches and twigs that prevent light and air 

 from going freely through the tree, are pruned away to throw all 

 the energy for blossoming into the terminal branches. No water 

 is allowed near the trees for fully six weeks — that is, the whole 

 of November and part of December. Water is then applied, say 

 about the second week in December, and the trees thoroughly 

 flooded, the cultivator being passed over two days after, to save 

 the earth drying and cracking and conserving the moisture below 

 the surface. 



Pruning roots and branches and cleaning the trees coupled with 

 the rest that the trees get for the six weeks while suffering for 

 want of water, compel a large number of the trees to commence 

 to blossom about three weeks after the first application of water, 

 and from then, each watering (three weeks apart), brings out more 

 blossoms ; so that blossoms first appear during the first week in 

 January. This year fully a thousand trees commenced to bloom 

 during the first ten days of January ; of course in the majority of 

 cases, only partially. 



I have had quite a few trees that I picked fruit from as late as 

 the middle of November, bloom in January slightly, but of course 

 the trees that had been relieved of fruit earlier than November, 

 bloomed earlier and heavier. 



This coming season I do not intend to pick any fruit in Novem- 

 ber ; so that I will have all fruit shipped by end of October. All 

 blossoms after the 15th March will be picked off so as to save the 

 trees carrying late fruit needlessly and thus ensuring an early 

 bloom next season. 



The above method can only be adopted in the irrigated districts 

 of Vere and St. Catherine, as only with irrigation can the trees be 

 controlled in a great measure ; and as you are aware, there are 

 barely half a dozen groves altogether in the two parishes named ; 

 but I am certain that a great deal of good could be effected in 

 the hills where practically, all the fruit comes from, if the trees 

 were treated as you recommend them to be. Of course the trees 

 in the hills are entirely at the mercy of the seasonal rains and 

 would not, even with irrigation, bloom very early in the year owing 

 to the climatic conditions. 



Even at the present time of writing, many of the wild trees are 

 loaded with over-ripe and unmarketable fruit, thus perpetuating a 

 lot of the mischief and compelling the sending away of immature 



