MANURING AND PRUNING. 19 



surrounding air provides it with a large portion, which is taken 

 up in gaseous form by the leaves. It should therefore be the 

 aim of the cultivator to maintain on his trees as large a propor- 

 tion of healthy leaves as they can carry. Whether the food is 

 taken up by the roots, or by the leaves, it is in the latter organs 

 that all the material necessary for the purposes of growth and 

 -reproduction is formed and distributed. Theleaves are in fact the 

 Laboratory of the plant, in which all the most important changes 

 of the vegetable fluids are carried out. 



The importance of maintaining at all times a healthy crop 

 of leaves, cannot be over estimated ; and for this reason a system 

 of pruning should be adopted by which they are made to- 

 distribute themselves with great regularity over the branches of 

 the tree, so as to place them in a position to carry out the work 

 they are called upon to perform. 



PRUNING. 



The act of pruning is popularly supposed to cause the 

 production of fruit. That property carried out, it has this efl'ect, 

 is not to be doubted, but the effect is not so direct as is of tea 

 assumed. 



Given a young tree in good health, and with a single stem, 

 the pruning should commence by the regulation of the primaries, 

 or first branches made by the tree. There should, as a general 

 rule, be only three, or at most four primary branches left on the 

 Cacao tree. These should be encouraged to extend themselves 

 laterally, as they have a natural tendency to do, and should be 

 encouraged to develop at regular distances the secondary 

 branches. The tertiary branches should also be encouraged to 

 grow at regular intervals. 



In the primary stages, pruning should be performed before 

 the wood becomes sufficiently hard to require the use of knife, 

 "by the method known as " pinching." This is carried out with 

 thumb and finger, and all succulent shoots not required, can be 

 lieaded back or " stopped" by this means. At all times, it 

 should be the endeavour of the pruner to maintain the tree 

 well balanced (i.e.) it should not have one branch growing more 

 xapidly than another, so as to make the tree appear lop-sided 

 from an}' one point of view. Many of the older cultivators do 

 not regard this point sufficiently, in carrying out their pruning 

 operations, and man}' branches are left, owing to their being 

 Tearing branches, which for the permanent security of the tree, 

 for its general appearance, and for its bearing qualities, should 

 be removed. It is much better to check at once the tendency 

 of a tree to assume an irreguUr and uncultivated form, than tc 

 --allow a branch grow for a time and finally be compelled tc 

 treuuove it when of large size. 



