32 Pruning. 
Assam bushes which have been heavily thinned 
out take a long time to recover, at least they do 
in the hills. On many gardens one sees fine great 
Assam bushes and is surprised to find they only 
yield 2 to 8 maunds an acre. The bushes are 
probably 4 or 5 feet high and on looking into 
them you find they are a mass of knots, crow’s 
feet, and twigs, with 3 or 4 healthy shoots on the 
whole bush. But from a short way off they are 
quite show bushes, Cut all these kind of bushes 
back to 18 inches and let them gradually recover 
their size, they will not look so big for a year 
or two, but bushes are not grown to look at, but 
to pay, and an Assam tree will yield better and 
stronger leaf at 3 feet than it will do at 5 or 
6 feet high, and the coolies will be able to pluck 
them much more easily. China bushes only 18 
inches off the ground yield lots more leaf 
than bushes 38 feet 6 inches high do. And 
any bush whether China or Assam that has 
good straight wood will yield more than a bush 
double its size and all crow’s feet. A good many 
managers now prune their gardens with very big 
