82 WEEDING AND PRUNING. 



reached the required height, when the soft wood is easily 

 severed by a pinch between the ringer and thumb, as in 

 the case of tea. In other countries the shrubs are topped 

 either at their full height four and one-half to five feet 

 or at three feet, allowing a " sucker " to grow up on the 

 weather side, the latter plan being preferred. There is 

 much advantage gained in limiting the height to five feet, 

 as not only is the crop gathered more easily, and without 

 damage to the tree, but it is actually heavier, and the 

 shrubs are more readily made to cover the ground. The 

 first result of "topping" is to induce the growth of a 

 number of shoots, the removal of which is termed 

 "handling* 1 or "searching." The first to appear arc 

 vertical " suckers " or " gormandizers," from under the 

 primary boughs ; these are immediately rubbed off with- 

 out injuring the bark. From the primaries spring 

 secondary branches in pairs, and at very short intervals. 

 All such appearing within six inches of the stem are 

 removed at once, so that a passage of at least a foot high 

 is left in the centre of the tree for the admission of the 

 air and sun. The object of pruning is to divert the 

 energies of the tree from forming wood, and to concen- 

 trate them upon forming fruit. The fruit of the Coffee 

 tree is borne by young wood, and as the secondaries are 

 reproduced when they are removed, they are cut off as 

 soon as they have borne. A constant succession of young 

 wood is thus secured. In order that this may be regular, 

 and to avoid weakening the shrub, the secondaries that 

 grow outside of the foot space are left on alternate sides 

 of the primary, their opposites being removed each year 

 in turn ; thus one is growing while the other is bearing. 

 The one point in view must be the equal development of 

 the tree and the yearly growth of as much as it will bear, 

 but no more, Branches must not be allowed to grow 



