30 COFFEE PLANTERS’ MANUAL. 
till after the blossom has set; while Mr. W. Sabona- 
dicre, another experienced pianter, in his work on 
Coffee Planting, differs entirely from Mr. Taylor, and 
thinks pruning should be completed before the blossom 
comes out. In this he is borne out by many other 
planters of as great or greater experience. In sup- 
port of Mr. Sabonadiére’s position a great deal can. 
be said:—Ist, By pruning early the tree is at once 
relieved of much dead and useless wood that has served 
its purpose, but is now an encumbrance. 2nd, By 
relieving it of such impedimental matter now when 
faint as it were from the loss of blood—weak from 
the drain on its vitality by the crop it has given, 
the tree looks seedy and sutfering,—you bring into 
full play all its latent juices, for the support of those 
boughs which are worth retaining, as well as for the 
creation of new wood against next year’s crop. drdly, 
The spring of the year is the spring time of all 
vegetable life, and in no plant is this more marked 
than in the coffee tree. 4th, It is the most conve- 
nient time, as your crop force is still available, and 
the most practised of them can be set to this work, 
before their usual exodus to their native country. 
5th (and this is a point which does not appear to 
have been noticed by the several experienced plant- 
ers who replied to Mr. Taylor). Although as a rule 
much wood is not produced capable of bearing the 
same year, ends of branches stretch out which fre- 
quently give a considerable sprinkling of crop, while 
not a few strong and healthy secondaries mature suffi- 
cientiy to give fruit. 
Mr. Taylor's theory has however this advantage, 
that you see where your crop is to be before you 
begin to prune, and need not deprive yourself of any 
partof it by cutting off bearing branches. But this is 
inconsistent with preserving the proper form of the 
tree ; for when every eye has blossomed you will 
often jack the courage to apply the knife to a most 
irregular branch, even though next year its retention 
will cause you amuch greater sacrifice. Under all the 
circumstances therefore surely Mr. Sabonadiére’s plan 
should carry off the palm ; seeing it is supprted by so 
many coyvent reasons, besides being the system first 
sketched out by that chief of the writers on Coffee 
Planting, ‘‘Ladvorie,”” and pursued successfully by him, 
and subsequently by many practical agriculturalists in 
Ceylon as experienced as himself. On another point 
in the practice of pruning does Mr. Taylor differ from 
Mr. Sabonadiére, and many orther planters whose opi- 
nions are entitled to great weight. It isas regards the 
long hanging-down primaries, generally denominated 
whips—i. e¢., branches which in the centre have few 
