764 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[May ], 1903. 
TEA PRUNING : 
THE LATEST DELIVERANCE BY THE 
INDIAN EXPERT AUTHORITIES. 
The appearance at this time of th ^ 
brochure by Sir George Watt, and Mr 
Harold H.Mann on the 'Principles of 
Tea Pruning "—1903 No. 1 of The Agricul- 
tural Ledger, published in Calcutta— is op- 
portune. The postponement of the date 
for receiving the Ceylon Prize Essays on 
Pruning, will give intending contributors 
who read tlrs paper the benefit of the 
latest deliverance of the recognised Indian 
authorities; and although it is unlikely 
that they will find in its pages much that 
is new, yet the re-statement of the old 
and established principles of scientific tea 
pruning should be a useful check. The 
Ceylon students of the " Principles of Tea 
Pruning" are ever made conscious of the 
fact that the field of observation from 
which the conclusions .are drawn is the 
Indian Presidency, and that it is necessary 
to kaep this in mind when applying them 
to our local industry. It detracts somewhat 
from the value of the paper that the range 
of its field is limited ; still the general con- 
clusions, which apply here as well as 
elsewhere, are of high value, are worthy 
of remembrance, and in practical hands will 
be found making for utility. In tea pruning, 
it makes all the difference in the world 
if the planter has an intelligent knowledge 
of what the application of the knife aims 
at, as compared with the uninstructed man 
who knows the system hut not the reason for it. 
" Pruning," say the leamed authors, "is 
the most important operation in the tea 
garden . . . demanding the most skilled, 
careful, and constant supervision." This 
note is sounded all through the paper and 
reaches its climax in these words, " the 
sooner it is recognised that pruning should 
be bush by bush, and not plot by plot, the 
better will it be for the industry at large." 
As an ideal, the principle here laid down 
is indisputable, but as a working hypothesis 
it is simply hopeless, On a moderate-sized 
estate— 300 acres or so— the number of trees 
run over the million, and when this is 
stated, the utter impracticability of an 
individual treatment of each bush is glaringly 
manifested. This objection to the " bush 
by bush " system of pruning bus had the 
attention of che gifted authors, having 
been urged before by Indian tea planters. 
J'iie authors admit the difficulty, and offer 
as one way ot overcoming it in the following 
method. " Trained sirdars go through their 
respective portions cf the garden, and fasten 
a stake bearing a coloured string alongside 
of each bush that would require to be 
pruned in a particular way." The Manager 
examines these suBicienlly to satisfy himself 
that hi-i ideas are understood ; then coolies 
follow, each pruning his own colour. A 
veiy ingenious plan, indeed, but— we incline 
to think— hardly a feasil)le one. It would be 
interesting to know what the cost of the 
"coloured string" system amounts to, ana 
if the financial results as comp.ired with 
the style which usually obtains -a few 
broad principles which the cooly's mind 
can grasp, with moderate supervision— are in 
.striking contrast- We are not quite sure 
if the expert authors are not making 
somewhat of a fetish of their system of 
pruning. Less elaborate and burdensome 
styles have been adopted with some success, 
and the test should be, results. Good results 
are, however, not always admissible evidence 
in the eyes of the Indian .luthorities if 
their principles are departed from, but 
are said to be "iw spite of a. bad system 
of pruning." When the good results follow 
the Watt and Mann methods, to dispute 
the connection is not allowable ! It is 
possible, we think, to n. ake te.a pruning 
too scientific, and this seems to us a i^eal 
danger when the guide has no practical 
experience. Correct pruning is, according 
to our authorities, a cut which " leaves 
practically no wood above the bud from 
which the new shoot is to arise." Again 
"If the knife be inserted below the base 
of the bud, and a long slanting section 
be made, the bud will be starved and thus 
produce a sickly shoot. If the section be 
made at a point, say from half-an-inch to 
two inches above the bud, the protruding 
portion will be starved and die .accordingly." 
It takes a good de.al from the practical 
value of the above information when we 
elsewhere read, " It is often impossible to 
know where the bud will appear in a 
tea bush "! 
The scientific man , who is not also a 
practical man, is too apt to ignore the 
necessary commonplaces which lead to 
success. Expert scientific advice is invalu- 
able, and if it can be linked on to work- 
a-day methods, there is room for rejoicing ; 
but the effects on the planter must be de- 
pressing when he is urged to follow lines 
which are quite unworkable with the 
material at his command. Ramasamy 
hunting for the " often impossible "-to-flnd 
tea bud, while expected to finish a task of 
pruning, would be a puzzle headed thing 
on any estate, and mostly making for 
mutiny. We would not, however, be mis- 
understood in what we have said, as if 
we lightly valued these authoritative deli- 
verances on the " Principles of Tea Pruning." 
No planter can make^ himself master of this 
brochure without benefit to himself and the 
work he directs, and although he may see 
in it, but a counsel of perfection" still it 
is a sure guide as far as he can follow it. 
He can never expect to reach the proclaimed 
ideal ; but to h ive an ideal ever with him 
is a great gain, and to reach forward to 
it, even in an imperfect and faltering way, 
has hope and healthy stimulation in it. 
The price of this scientific pamphlet of 36 
pages is only three annas, which places it 
within the reach of all. 
HUSH RAINBOW TROUT FOR JAPAN. 
Covered with damp moss in muslin tronj^hs 
and herriietically sealed in tin, some 20,000 Irish 
r.ainbow trout eggs are on their way from Innishan- 
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