232 Coffee Planting. 



to keep down . the " suckers ;" these persistently 

 burst forth in clusters from the lower axillaries of 

 the primary branches (generally the first two or 

 three from the top), immediately after the operation 

 referred to, as if in indignant protest against the 

 arbitrariness of artificial treatment. They should 

 always be pulled off by hand, in order that by the 

 probable extraction of the germ or bud, further 

 growths may be discouraged. Where the knife is 

 used, the sucker will seldom be so completely 

 removed but that two or more new shoots will 

 spring out from its base. 



The young tree having been thus trained, is now 

 in the most favourable condition for the production 

 of its maiden crop. This will probably proceed 

 entirely from the primaries, with perhaps the 

 addition of the lower and more matured parts of 

 the secondaries on the lower part of the tree. 

 While the crop is ripening, everything should be 

 done to enable the young tree to bring it to matu- 

 rity with the least exhaustion, by keeping off all 

 useless or superfluous shoots. 



The season for the annual knife-pruning arrives 

 as soon as the crop has been gathered ; but 

 provided the system above described has been 

 carefully followed from the first, there ought to be 

 very little knife-work required, for the first few 

 years at any rate. 



