438 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jahuary 2, 1888- 
May be worked on safely. It is a much easier 
task to tell you when not to prune as at 4,500 ft. 
elevation up. Do not prune as between the middle 
of November to February, more especially 
during December, January and February. It is too 
cold, with frost sometimes, as last year, to develop 
good running wood in time to get the full benefit 
of your best months, which then merely serve to 
form the bush for your worst. I would, however, 
rather prune in December or January than defer 
it to March or April, as it is better to form wood 
before than in your best months, and the greater 
the state of perfection you can bring your wood 
into for the best months the better. To sum up 
then, try and avoid pruning during the months of 
December, January, February, March, April and 
until after the burst of the S.-W. in May. Choos- 
ing in preference to all months July, or as it is 
impossible to complete the pruning in one month 
and keep the labour going, let it be done for choice 
during July, August and September. And to sum 
up again : after first topping, your bushes may as a 
rule run with most advantage 15 months up to 
16 months, and under exceptional circumstances 
up to 18 months, thus for two prunings, say two to 
three more at 12 months, when cut down and 
run for 24 months, always dependent upon careful 
plucking, as I said before, and a good hybrid to 
back you. 
Peuning, a most important factor with regard to 
yield, requires much more space than we have time 
today to give it. I trust, however, I have touched 
sufficiently upon it to bo of some assistance to those 
of you gentlemen who require it, and always 
beair these two rules in mind : Never cut away a good 
lateral and tip bade everything. 
Plucking. — As a general rule here is where fault 
has to be found, and here it is that yield is lost. You 
make a great fuss about your surface, your topping, 
your gentle treatment afterwards. You start your 
coolies at plucking and hug yourselves with the 
belief that all must now go well in the field, and 
those of you who have factories stick at them 
all day, thinking your own individual presence is 
here absolutely necessary in order to make good 
tea, kicking up an occasional row with your pluckers, 
because their average is short, you take every 
opportunity of talking about manufacture and 
of picking up all the wrinkles you can on this subject. 
Quite right in its way, but you do not begin at 
the fountain-head of all good tea — the plucking 
of the leaf — so long as you get good looking leaf 
and a fair average you are content. You never 
made a greater mistake. Time goes on, your 
"liquor," with all your personal care and attention, 
is not quite as good as you hoped, or as you 
deserve, after all the care you have given to the 
manufacture of the leaf, carrying out to the letter 
every rule you know or can hear of, and then, 
whilst suffering from a rather more violent attack 
ef dyspepsia than usual, brought on by "striet 
attention to business " and your tea drier, your 
kangany in reply to a pertinent question as to the 
reason why the leaf is falling off in quantity, 
tells you there is not enough rain, or there is 
too much. The appearance of your bush does 
not please you, and you call in the aid of "one 
of those tea chaps" who tells you you hava over- 
plucked, and there is nothing for it but to cut 
down and lose two of your best months. This is 
not an overdrawn picture, gentlemen, and much 
as supervision is necessary in the factory it is 
equally as necessary with the pluckers, and walk- 
ing over the tea fields to judge how to continue 
your round and when to "lift" your pluckers — 
owing to various causes which it is unnecessary 
here to enter upon, it is sometimes necessary to 
"lift" yojir pluckers over a field and give it a few 
days longer law — again you may find you are getting 
too rapidly over the ground, which would result 
in too severe treatment with the last portion 
plucked, throwing the flush back and making each 
succeeding round harder on the bush, till it "shuts 
up." Afford yourselves then a " tea maker," train 
him well, when an occasional " look up will keep 
all going as it should be in the factory, and give 
all the time possible to your pluckers, with an 
occasional walk round the totum to see how the 
various fields are coming on. Without good healthy 
leaf you cannot make good tea, and without con- 
stant attention to your pluckers you will lose yield, 
and in losing yield, good leaf — i.e., good liquor. I 
will now give you safe rules to go by to insure 
good leaf and good yield, and pray understand me, 
these rules apply to high-grown tea only. We are 
supposed to be working on a good j&t hybrid 
"topped" at 18 in. (not pruned, remember), age 
say 18 months to 2 years. Pluck your first round 
at 24 in. and above, using, for one round only, a 
measuring stick with a cross piece at 24 in ; with 
this stick in the centre of your bush, the cross- 
piece aids the plucker in plucking at a level surface, 
take everything that will make tea above 24 in. 
at one " pluck," i.e., with as many leaves and the 
bud on each shoot pluoked, as will make tea, 
leaving full leaves below the level; tip off bangy 
at sides but pluck no running growth below 24 in. 
So soon as the bush has thrown out another 
primary growth which shows above the last level 
plucked, pluck it at the level; with secondary 
growth pluck, allowing one developed leaf 
and the " fish " leaf to remain on the shoot, tip 
"bangy" as before, and as some of the laterals or 
side shoots, especially low down on the bush will 
now show signs of a stoppage of growth, pluck 
these, removing at one operation a bud and a leaf, 
and if a thin straggling shoot, a bud and two leaves. 
From now on, tip all side branches that will not run 
up to the level, and pluck surface and sides at one 
full leaf above last plucking, and thus till the time 
comes to prune. After pruning pluck primary 
growth at the surface at above two to three leaves 
according to the strength of the shoots and the 
jat ; at the sides, at above three to four leaves. 
Pluck secondary growth at above two or one leaf, 
as the case may be, at the surface; and at above 
two to three at the sides, pluck tertiary growth, at 
the surface, at above one leaf; at the sides, at above 
one or two' as the case may be. Pluck all succeed- 
ing rounds at above one leaf, and on thus. Another 
mode, necessary with a lower class hybrid, is to 
pluck to a shoulder thus : primary growth 
after pruning pluck at above three leaves then take 
half the top leaf allowing two leaves and a half 
(a shoulder) to remain. Secondary growth pluck 
at above two leaves and take half the top leaf 
equal one-and-a-half leaf remains, the sides the 
same way, beginning at one leaf higher, getting to 
the one-and-a-half leaf stage at the tertiary instead 
of at the secondary growth. At about six months the 
bush will begin to show rather thin flushing wood. 
When this is apparent, discard the shoulder pluck- 
ing and pluck down to at above one whole leaf, 
when the shoots will thicken out again. Light, 
thin, semi-bangy flush it is that gives poor liquor, 
avoid getting this style of growth on your bush. 
Growth of flush is more rapid from a shoulder 
than from a full leaf, but thinner ; and therefore 
although at the beginning of the season the yield 
from a shoulder plucking will be heavier, it falls 
off as the season advances. The exact opposite is 
the case with the full leaf plucking. Be patient, 
and pluck strictly according to rule, although you 
may be leaving that which will make tea on your 
