480/ 



[November, 1908. 



Correspondence, 



MANGOES IN CEYLON. 



Jaffna, 26th October, 1908. 



Sir, — With reference to the article 

 "Mangoes in Ceylon," by Mr. H. F. 

 Macmillan, which appeared in your issue 

 for August, 1908, I beg to point out 

 that his statement that one hundred trees 

 can be grown in an acre of land is quite 

 incorrect— a full-grown mango tree in 

 Jaffna covers an area of about 40C 

 square yards, and therefore the highest 

 number of trees that can be grown in an 

 acre is only twelve. Further, his estimate 

 of 1,000 fruits as an average crop per 

 tree is also questionable. Mangoes do 

 not bear fruits regularly every year, 

 for a shower of rain in January- 

 February generally results in total 

 failure. 



The kind called "Jaffna Mango "was 

 introduced into Jaffna from Colombo, 

 sixty years ago, by the late Mr. Dyke. I 

 presume that "Jaffna Mango" is a 

 corruption of the words "Japan Mango," 

 and I believe that this type of mango 

 was introduced into Colombo from 

 Japan. To settle this question, I would 

 suggest your ascertaining from the 

 Agricultural Department in Japan whe- 

 ther mangoes of this type are to be found 

 there in large numbers. 



I am, Sir, 



Yours sincerely, 



(Sgd.) C. M. SINNAYAH, 

 Mudaliyar. 



[The mango only occurs inlndo-Malaya. 

 Japan is too cold for it,— Ed.] 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



Sir, — 1 am sending a cutting from 

 "The Garden" of September 12, 1908, 

 and would suggest its reproduction 

 in the T. A., as it may prove useful to 

 intelligent fruit growers. 



Little is understood locally of pruning 

 in any form. 



The only plant which appears to be 

 subject to root-pruning is the Vine in 

 the North, 



Perhaps some of your readers will be 

 able to give their experiences of the 

 operation if they have practised it. 

 Yours truly, 

 GARDENER. 



The Root-pruning op Fruit Trees. 



In the culture of hardy fruits there is 

 no operation capable of producing such 

 good results as root-pruning when the 

 task is intelligently and properly carried 

 out, but where the work is performed 

 in a haphazard manner much more 

 harm than good is frequently done. At 

 the outset it may be as well to briefly 

 consider what root-pruning is and for 

 what purpose it is adopted. The opera- 

 tion itself merely consists of shortening 

 back all large, straight roots which have 

 a tendency to go downwards in the 

 soil, but the object of the work will need 

 more explanation. It frequently hap- 

 pens that when young fruit trees have 

 been planted a year or two they com- 

 mence to grow at a tremendous rate, 

 shoots several feet long being produced 

 in one season. This may at first seem 

 very satisfactory, but when the owner 

 looks year after year in vain for flowers 

 and the subsequent fruit he is inclined 

 to think, and rightly so, that something 

 is wrong. What is happening in such a 

 case is that the tree is devoting the 

 whole of its energies to the formation 

 of wood, and no fruit is the result. It 

 is in such instances that root-pruning is 

 required, the idea being to give the tree 

 a check and thus induce it to form less 

 wood and more flowers. 



The best time to carry out the work 

 is the end of September, and it does not 

 matter in the least whether the leaves 

 have fallen from the tree at that date 

 or not. In the case of trees of manage- 

 able size, say, those which have been 

 planted three years, it frequently hap- 

 pens that lifting them and replanting 

 them immediately will suffice, the break- 

 ing of a certain number of roots in the 

 operation being a sufficient check. With 

 older and better established specimens, 

 however, the above system will not 

 answer, and more elaborate methods 

 have to be adopted. The general prac- 

 tice is to measure a half-circle round 

 the stem of the tree and some distance 

 away. The distance will vary according 

 to the size of the specimen being dealt 

 Avith, but a good general rule is to make 

 the line one-third the distance from the 

 stem as the tree is high. Thus, if a tree 

 is 9 feet high the half circle line should 

 be made 3 feet from the stem, or in 

 similar proportion. The idea of only 

 going half-way round the tree at one 

 operation is that this will probably 

 prove sufficient to bring the tree into 

 bearing ; if not, the other half is done 

 two years hence. 



