246 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. (October 2, 1889 
VIII. 
Ambagamuwa: Elevation about 3,500 feet. 
There is not much new light that can be thrown on 
the above. Practical men of various districts, climates 
and elevations have already contributed to our general 
knowledge much, if not all that they could say, of what 
they tried and found best suited to their own special 
estates, and what general knowledge we have will always 
have to be modified to suit each estate and even the 
different fields of each estate ; e. g. one would 
not pluck a fl.it and a hill alike after pruning ; 
nor a forest clearing and a chena clearing. If one 
waited for shoots with eight leaves in the impoverished 
soil of a patch formerly in coffee, he might lose his op- 
portunities and perhaps half the season. So also with 
other details in the field. So that many of our 
pet dicta will ever remain open to modification, and one 
should be slow to generalize or hazard opinions. 
1. As regards pruning, since the continuous rains 
and the strong winds of July minimize the yield and 
interfere with labour in most places, apart from the 
contribution towards costly and unsatisfactory manu- 
facture, this should be our month for pruning on 
grounds of prudence and economy, if other conditions 
were not unfavorable. 
2. Plucking. — I found it always best to let the bush 
establish itself somewhat : the new stems mature, the 
lower leaves develop to full size and change from light 
to darker green and then I nipped off the convolute 
bud and the lower leaf. I repeat this for a few 
rounds, till the secondaries are ready to pluck. Gradually 
I get into the usual mode of plucking. When by- 
patience at the start the bush is allowed to form, then 
hard plucking may afterwards be practised with 
impunity, and the leaf will be found to yield better 
results in the cup. Should, however, the impatient 
proprietor fall tooth and nail on the tender and imma- 
ture bush just forming, and carry away basket after 
basket of the succulent flush, he may be rewarded with 
similar flush for a few rounds, after which he will find 
the yield fall off rapidly, leaving him a stunted bush 
to work upon for the rest of the year. Nor will the tea 
manufactured from such succulent vegetation do more 
towards the good name, tame and reputation of Ceylon 
than compete with the four-penny Ohinas in the Lane. 
3. Withering.— The average for good tea has been 
found with me to be 66 lb. out of 100. 
4. Firing. — It will matter little if there was any ne- 
glect in the firing, if after sifting, the tea is re-fired 
the next day and placed in the bins hot. 
The temperature of the drier should not be 
higher than is compatible with the work of the factory. 
It is better to incline to 200 than 300 when possible. 
IX. 
Pussellawa : Elevation, under 4,000 feet. 
In replying, as requested, to the questions re- 
regarding tea culture and preparation, I think no 
hard and fast rule of action should be adhered to, as 
regards pruning or plucking. Much depends on the 
seasons, as well as on elevation, climate, &c, and the 
condition or state of the bush, must determine one's 
course of action. 
1. When is it best to prune ? Opinions differ as 
to when it is advisable first to apply the knife to the 
tea-bush. Many think it should be left to run, un- 
touched for three years. For my part I think "top- 
ping" (i. e. merely cutting across) advisable, when a 
tea-bush is from 18 months to 2 years old. The knife 
should next be applied when the bush ceases to flush 
readily : this generally happens from 12 to 18 months 
time from the last pruning. How should pruning be 
done ? Exposure, elevation, the jtlt of the tea bush, the 
time of year, are all factors which must be taken into 
consideration in determining what method of pruning 
should be adopted. Everyone is agreed that a low jat 
bush should be cut down very low while a high jat bush 
can be topped with advantage at a height of 18 inches. 
When pruning if again necessary, the state of the 
bush, and growth of the new wood, have everything 
to do with arriving at a decision whether to cut the 
bush down again to the level of (or even below) the 
original out, or to prune two or three inches above 
it. If the latter course can be adopted, the bush 
will, -.n all probability, admit of each successive pru- 
ning being done with advantage 2 or 3 inches above 
the last cut, until the time arrives for cutting down 
again to a low level. Leaves adhering to the main 
stems should be left on the bush, and this is the 
more necessary if pruning in the dry season. 
2. Plucking.— After pruning, the primary shoots 
should be left to throw out 8 to 9 leaves, when they 
should be plucked back, leaving 3 to 4 full leaves 
on the bush (when the bush is young, it would be 
well to leave 4 leaves). When the secondary shoots 
come out, 1J leaf might be left, including the first 
leal if a well-grown leaf, but excluding it otherwise. 
When the tertiary and other shoots come up, lh 
leaf should be left on the bush, and the rest of the 
flush taken. This applies to ordinary medium pluck- 
ing. By leaving one full leaf (instead of a leaf and 
a-half) one gets a finer plucking, but I do not think 
the bush flushes as readily as when a leaf-and-a-half 
is left. This method of plucking can be continued 
till the end of the season, altered occasionally ac- 
cording to the state of the bush ; for instance, if 
the bush flush freely, and there is plenty of green 
bearing wood upon it, only a half leaf can be 
left with impunity, otherwise a leaf, or a leaf-and- 
a-half, should be left. 
3. Green leaf should lose about 40 per cent (i. e. 
100 lb. green leaf should wither down to 60) to se- 
cure a good wither. 
4. I think tea should be fired till it is crisp but 
not highly-fired. For those who have facilities for 
sifting, it may be well to sift when firing ; but as the 
leaf is sifted in the roll (prior to the coarse leaf be- 
ing returned to the roller to he re-rolled) I think 
this unnecessary. F. C. G 
X. 
Around Kandy: Elevation Under 2,000 Feet. 
1. Pruning. — In selecting your best time for 
pruning the one great object in view should be to 
get your trees into the best flushing order during 
the fine months of the season, when you get your 
heavy pluckings and also make your best tea. 
July, August, September, I consider to be the best 
months for pruning ; for then, after heavy pruning 
you will be able to make a fresh start in plucking, 
say in October and November. As the first few 
rounds will give you little chance of either getting a 
good plucking or turning out good tea, you will fairly 
be established in good pluckings only from the begin- 
ing of November, and your tree3 will then be in 
the best possible condition, say, till the end of Blay. 
As to how pruning should be done, is a matter of 
great importance, as you will very often find that good 
pruning and careful pluckings are the great factors 
in your attaining the estimated crop rather than any- 
thing else, — do your pruning thoroughly well. When 
I say thoroughly well, I do not mean a further outlay 
on the estimated pruning expenditure ; but very 
careful work. Cut your bushes down to a level on a 
given height, care being taken so as not to have the 
centre of the bush higher than the side3, but quite 
flat, if not slightly inclined towards the centre. 
Having done this you begin to clear the centre of the 
bush of all brushwood formed through continual 
pluckings, and all useless twigs ; but if you are work- 
ing 2 or 3 inches upon your previous year's pruning, 
yoa will not find much of the former at your prun- 
ing-level if your pluckings were properly conducted. 
Any old useless wood not capable of foroing out 
strong healthy shoots should be cut clean off, retain- 
ing as much of the newly-formed wood as possible. 
All knotty heads of branches should be cut off ; 
as otherwise, instead of forcing good strong 
shoots, they will only throw out a number of thin 
wiry shoots, however strong the wood may be- 
Coolies, unless strictly looked after in pruning, are 
apt to do either too much or too little. They will 
either cut off much of the healthy wood, or leave a 
good deal of what should be pruned off, resulting in 
either case in a reduced yield. The former will only 
reduce your yield, while the latter will also affeot 
the quality of your tea, 
