Sept. i, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
1S1 
No. IV. 
Deab Sib,— My experience of whole and hall 
leaf pluoking haa been that no fixed rule should 
be adopted. Much depends upon the weather, 
length of time from pruning, soil, rainfall and 
olimate. If the bushes are in good flushing con- 
dition and weather hot with a fair rainfall, half 
of leaf above the fish leaf may be taken with 
Eaf9ty and profit for a time; but a general 
rule whole-leaf plucking is thp safest and most 
profitable. Before pruring pluck to the fish. 
J. S. 
No. V. 
Dear Sib,— When the jat is of good quality whole- 
leaf plucking, I think, is preferable to half-leaf for at 
least a year after pruning ; it may then be found 
advisable to pluck on the half, from four to six 
months, after whioh pluok to the fish-leaf as 
many rounds as you find the bushes will yield 
good returns. With an inferior jat o£ tea whole- 
leaf pluoking does not give so good returns, I 
think if peisisted in much beyond six months 
after pruning, unless the tea has been well manured, 
in whioh case the bushes may run to two years 
without pruning and you may treat them as you 
would a better jat. As a rule poor jat gives best 
returns from pluoking on the half-leaf soon after 
the bUBh is in form after pruning.— Yours, 
POOR SOIL. 
No. VI. 
August 1st. 
Deab Bib,— I have had good results from J-leaf 
pluoking; but it has two disadvantages: 1st, it 
is very diffioult to get proper half-leaf plucking 
oarried out in the field ; and one frequently sees 
Bmall mutilated fragments left instead of ^-leaves ; 
2nd, on manufacture, all halves and broken pieoes 
tend to make the manufactured artiole red and 
choppy. Given a medium elevation, it will be 
found very good for the trees and made tea as 
well, to pluok whole-leaf for twelve months from 
date of pruning; or say 9 months from formation 
ol surfaoe after pruniDg ; after which pluck to 
fish-leaf up to date of pruning again, alternating 
with-wbole leaf now and again when bushes appear 
too hard pluoked. D. K. 
No. VII. 
Blair Athol, Dik^ya, Aug, 2. 
Deab Sib,— The advisability of plucking to ''whole 
leaf," continuously till just before pruning, depends 
greatly on jat and soil. Witts a high-clsss of tea, 
thiB system would be the best, and pay well, and 
makes the plucking easier, and the ooolies prefer it. 
But with a medium jat of Assam Hybrid, 1 
oonsider it pays best to pluck to " full-leaf" for 
12 months after pruning, and then to a " half-leaf." 
Pluoking to a " half-leaf " foroes on the flush, but 
oare should be taken to have a good half-leal so as 
to Droteot the bud— Yours faithfully. 
P F. G. A. LANE. 
No. VIII. 
August 4th. 
Deab Sib,— In some fields I have seen as good 
results in yield and made tea from the one pluok- 
ing as from the other, but on the whole I prefer 
full-leaf pluoking at this elevation, all else being 
r-qual. 
2ft 
The advantages of this pluoking, as a rule, are 
oheaper oost of pluoking, muoh less bangy and better 
condition of trees generally. For really fine pluok- 
ing to get best results there ought to be no half- 
leaf ; but for medium or coarser pluoking, though 
there may be a slight gain in flavour, there is less 
strength perhaps than with § leaf pluoking ; with 
full leaf, if for yield prune and tip fairly low, if 
for quality and price study height in both of these. 
I prune on system from 20 to 24 months, pluok 
to fish-leaf 12 to 14 months after pruning, and 
let up to full leaf and down again to fish as I find 
necessary for eaoh field, and according to weather, 
&o. I do this also with f leaf plucking, but then 
pluok to fish from 6 to 10 months after pruning 
and full leaf up to that. There is much in pluck- 
ing each round up to a regular fixed time. 
Result which is always better than mere opinion: — 
For season 1893-4 just finished on 30th Jane last, 
by this full leaf pluoking, and all treated as above, 
got on one estate of 275 aores just over the 
700 lb. per aore made tea all round. Age of tea 
from 4 to 8 years. On the whole of these places 
I got 653 lb. per acre all round ; age 3 to 8 yeara. 
Mostly Kelvin jat. 
For lower elevation and with more rain, &o,, f 
leaf might give best result taking everything into 
oonsideration. W. B, J. 
No. IX. 
Deab Sib, — I gave up half-leaf plucking years 
ago, and I oonsider, with fairly good jat, at an 
elevation over 3,000 ft., the yield is quite as good, 
and the quality of the made tea better, with 
whole-leaf pluoking. 
When the bushea get too muoh foliage, a 
round or two of plucking to the fish-leaf on the 
tops of the bushes will do good. 
Have had no experience of lo wcountry pluoking. 
When a leaf and half are left above the fish-leaf, 
and only the bud, and 1J leaf taken, it may 
answer fairly well as regards quality, but whole- 
leaf plucking oosta less, and in my opinion, ia 
preferable in every way. A. O. 
NO. X: 
Dear Sib,— I oonsider there can be but little or 
no doubt but that whole-leaf pluoking ia the most 
advantageous, i.e., for nine to twelve months after 
pruning, as it gives a much evener tea, and your 
buches are not so apt to be destroyed as pluoking 
to the half-leaf, as no amount of looking after 
will make ooolies leave a proper half-leaf, and they 
are very apt to take all to the fiBh-leaf in half-leaf 
pluoking, saying if fish-leaf is a big one they thought 
it was a leaf, whereas ia plucking to fish-leaf and 
full-leaf they have no exouse and know it. Pluok- 
ing to the full-leaf also gives better teas as the finer 
teas are freer of flat broken tea, whioh with oareful 
manufacture only oome from half-leaves, and these 
half-leaves never give an even wither or an even 
fermentation ; so your sample is spoiled. After ten 
months pluck half-leaf, especially in the low- 
country as your tea is to a certain extent "shutting 
up " and you want quantity. A month before 
pruning pluck to fish-leaf as that will give you a 
greater yield and at that time the flush is all small 
from bushes in want of pruning, and your propor- 
tion of floe tea larger than when the bushes are 
in vigorous health, but as oan be fanoied the yield 
is then less. Tip down to two leaves and then 
pluok to full leaf and pluok sides of bushes aa well 
it's a loaa to grow side branahea and not pluok 
them. W. M. 
