Plucking. 43 
third allowed to run for new wood. But the 
wood thus made is very thin, and this system 
is not a good one. It is a common thing to 
hear that such and such a garden has lost some 
hundred maunds of tea through hail, In most 
cases this loss is much over-estimated, as if 
the bark of the bush is not damaged the 2nd 
and 8rd flushes will be very strong, and nearly 
if not quite make up for loss, Even if the 
2nd flush comes on Banghy, it is so thick that 
a tremendous lot of tea is made, and if well 
thinned out, the 38rd flush will rush up 
splendidly. 
Occasionally in very dry seasons, the first flush, 
through want of moisture in the soil, is a failure 
and scarcely runs at all. When this happens 
many planters tear off every leaf that shows, 
make a large amount of tea in April, and trust 
to 2nd and 8rd flushes for the new wood. This 
system, to say the least, is risky, as if the bushes 
are blighted in 2nd or 8rd flushes, scarcely any 
tea is made and at the end of the season, the 
wood being very weak, a good deal of the gar- 
