May 1, 1903.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
7G7 
iiieuta of Mr VV i'laUwick of tlie Dupai tment of 
Agriculture, Jamaica. — Agricultural News, 
Feb. ^8. - 
TEA PKU.NING. 
{ Eemarka on AciricuUtiral Ledi/er No. 1 of 1903.) 
Why the subjf^et of pru lin^; shouM hpve been 
iiiattor for a number of the liCd^ier is .somewliat 
obscure. Is it supposed tliat number of persons 
who liave tea to prune are likely to require the help 
of this oracular pamphlet V Or is it snno;ht to 
standardise the operation ? Finally is it iniended 
to be a fund of information for laymen who are 
shareholders in tea to throw piecemeal at the 
heads of practical men who depart from its pre- 
cepts ? It is probably none, or all, of these — a 
statement of the scientific side of I he case, and as 
such can only have an acadeniic iiife3rest to prac- 
tical men, Put forward by two such men who 
between them use up half the alphr'.b3t on ths title 
page, criticism is half afraid to speak up, and the 
Ledger might have been suffered to pass into the 
obscurity of dust and cobwebs but for its too 
evident effort at belittling the mental proportions 
of the average planter. Like all who dabble in tea 
affairs, the authors have fixed their minds on 
pruning as a most important operation. Our 
authors p;o further, however, and give their opi- 
nion in favour of its being " the most important 
operation in the tea garden." Here we have the 
apol gy foi' their attention to the subject, and 
after tliis deliberate ju'fgmeut who will say wheie 
manufacture or even the planting of the bush itself 
stanil in relative importance ? But probably the 
next Tea Ledger on the subjf.ct of, say, the weed- 
ing of nursery beds, will equally use the time- 
honoured phrase, and the industry will get a level 
keel again. The palmy days of the industry were 
not modelled upon such deliverances, and what- 
ever success our fathers had they achieved without 
getting lopsided views of the eternal importance 
of this or that ; they went, it may be supposed, 
for them altogether. Irresponsibility is writ large 
over this epoch-n:aking Ledger. But that is not 
its worst fault. The amazing assaniption that 
planters are generally not up to their work or 
inept in carrying it out is what the industry 
cannot take from even such valuable men. That 
variety of opinion exists is a healthy sign of 
coming and existing grace. As to ''principles" 
which this Ledger is designed to lay down, what 
in the ultimate position are they ? And can they 
not be stated without calling in question the coni 
petence of those engaged in the actual work ? 
Verily, " Behold, ye are the people and wi.-d.jm 
shall die with you." - Have our very superior 
friends ever tried to prune a bush on the principles 
laid down, {,c„ 45 degree cuts just over a bud 
and all useless wood to be carefully removed ? It 
takes 10 to 15 minutes to do it working hard. 
Now working moderately hard eight hours a day, 
a man v/ould <m this reckoning do 40 to 60 bushes 
and the cost would be Rll a acre ; one man would 
do au acre in about even weeks, and you woaid 
require a man for every acre of your garden, 
which clearly is impossible. And just in this sort 
of thing lie.s the crux of the whole matter, that 
the planter does as well as he can with the means 
at his disposal, and must not be called names or 
have it suggested that he is an amateur at making 
his bread and butter. Fractice is often at variance 
with the principles or science ; and the reasons for 
any departure in tJiis particular case are well 
able to bear examination. All things considered, 
it seems likely wo shall fitill have to go over tho 
garden and cut it yoiue liow into shape, though 
hereafter we ir hall not call it "pruning" without 
vi.sions of Sir George Watt and Mr. Mann and 
tlieir clever, thoughtful Ledger. After all there is 
more in the management than they have yet 
dreamt of. 0. P. 
—Indian tUmting and Gardening/, April 4, 
♦ 
TEOUT IN THE NILGIRIS- 
PRY TO BE IMPORTED FBOTI CKYLON 
IN CASKS. 
I hear that therp are several promisinpf 
trout in Snowdon Pond and no more in the 
stream near Emerald Valley in the Kundahs. 
Of the fate of the fry that were floated out 
of the nursery pond on the Pykara River 
last year there is no news, but it is very 
probable that many of them went up stream 
and these may yet be heard of agjain. The sug- 
gestion of the Nilgiri Game Association that 
Major Bagnall should make enquiries with 
a view to procuring a fresh supply of ova 
when he went to England -on leave last 
year has come to nothing. A scheme which 
has every promise of success, however, is 
now being attempted by the Association. 
It is well known that the Ceylon Association 
has been very successful in rearing rainbow 
trout in the streams there, and the Dis- 
trict Forest Officer here is now in corre- 
spondence with the Association with a vie\y 
of bringing over fry from Ceylon in casks. 
If an agreement can be arrived at it is 
intended to bring over healthy fry, from 
five to six inches long, and there seems to 
be a great probability that the Nilgiri As- 
sociation will be .able to acclimatise, at any 
rate, a fair percentage of them in local 
waters. — Ootacamund Cor., Madras Mail, 
April 13. 
CAMPHOR PRODUCTION IN CHINA. 
(Daily Press, 21st 3Iarch.) 
One of the great staple products of Formosa 
during its occupation by the Chinese was camphor, 
and a considerable proportion of the export was in 
the hands of foreign firms until after the ces-ion 
of the island to Japan, Under Chinese adminis- 
tration there was a great deal of waste in the 
production, and we believe that the Japanese havn 
been attempting the conservation of the camphor 
forests. The loss of this important export has 
been felt by China, and it is with no little satis- 
faction that the Chinese are able to announce that 
an experiment in the production of the tree in the 
province of Hunan has been attended with great 
snoce?s. It IS stated that the soil of Hunan '^as 
now been found to be well suited for the i ,on- 
sive culrivation (if the camjihor tree, and the 
inhabitants are enthusiastically planting it wher- 
ever they can. A Chanjisha letter reports tiiat 
(heiq are now, in consequence of Ibis industrious 
planting, innumer.ible camphor trees several ft>pt 
in dianiPterin the province, ami ir is expected that 
with care it will be possible for Hunan to soon be able 
to export annually several thovisand picula of the 
