The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-08-28

repeated from time TO time unIl the.
cease to grow. The knife or sheari
should never require to be resorted u
on a well managed plantation, for a
best they only encourage a furthel
growth.
Handling consists, in addition to th'
suppression of suckers, as above de
scribed, in the removal of all second
aries, tertiaries, etc, not intended fol
the production of the following year:
crop. II also comprises the systematic
reduction of all growth within ra'
dius, of say, six inches from the stem
of the tree, from top to bottom, to ad'
nit of light and free circulation Of
the air This work must be carried
out at stated intervals, and should be
done when the Secondaries are quite
small, by the aid of the hands only
when they can be removed carefully
without injury to the bark. If from
any cause this work has been neglect
ed, and the secondaries have attained
a length of six inches or more, they
should be removed with the knife, and
not wrenched of by hand, which process
will most assuTedly strip off portion
of the bark from the primary and
damage the tree.
AS 10 how many landings may be
necessary during the year, and when
this work should first be commenced; as
already stated, is a matter which must
| be decided by the Indication of the
trees themselves. In some cases, with
/ the exception of the removal Of suckers
/ superfiuOus secondaries and all terti-
aries, no handling of any proportions
may be required until after topping
and the first pruning.
] Some planters maintain as the maid
en- crop is, or should be produced on
the primaries, that all secondaries, etc.
should be removed as soon as they
make their appearance, and not allowed
/ to grow at all while the first crop is
maturing. If such a plan be strictly
adhered to and maintained, where do
planters who advocate such course
! expect to harvest the crop in the year
following? for all pruning operations
are carried with view of producing
each successive crop on new wood. As
I have stated before, no hard and fast
rules can be laid down for such works;
but each individual planter must rely
upon his own Judgment and common
sense.
If it should be the case that trees in
a certain district, from elevation and
an excessive rainfall, have a tendency
10 run to wood, and produce a mass of
secondaries and tertiaries, and the
planter is satisfied that a loss of vital
ity is taking place with sacrifice of
crop; then under such circumstances,
judicious suppression of the second
aries might prove beneficial. He must
bear in mind, however, that when the
proper time arrives, he must make pro-
vision for the following years crop, by
leaving alternate Secondaries, as reg
ularly as circumstances will permit On
all the primaries. Further remarks
on handling will be treated later on in
their proper place after the first prun-
ing operations have been completed.
PRUNING.
Immediately after a crop has been
harvested the work of pruning should
be commenced and carried out as rapid
ly as is consistent with thorough work
in order to complete it ii possible be-
fore the season sets in. In some cases,
and in some districts, however, this
will be found impossible. 1t will be
necessary, therefore, to suspend oper-
ations when the trees are in flower
until the blossom has set, and complete
the work even at an apparent sacrifice
OF crop.
The pruning of a coffee tree is based
ciY, min iTN1n nc,
those of the fruit men in California
when pruning their orchards or their
grape vines. 1t consists in the removal
of all decayed wood and useless bran
ches: also those growing in a wrong
direction, and all wood which is past
bearing.
The planter must always remember
that in pruning operations he must
have two years in view, or rather two
crops; that is, in addition to the COM
ing crop; he must look year ahead
and make provision for the wood which
is to blossom and bear fruit in the year
following the one in which he is prun-
ing. For instance, in the district of
Kona, at the lower elevations, the crop
would be all harvested in December or
the early part of January. Now it is
obvious that the branches on which
the blossom is TO appear in March and
April, to produce the crop of that year,
must already be on the tree and well
matuTed; therefore one branch will be
/ growing while the other is bearing.
The first operation in pruning is to
thin out the center of the tree. Com
mence by taking off by hand all the
growth within a radius of six inches OF
/ the stem, as described for handling;
/ that is, all such as are small; any thick
/ branches must be cut with the knife
! Next take each primary in its turn
working from the stem to the eXtremi.
ty. and remove first all branches grow,
ing in a direction toward the center o.
the tree, all those growing vertically
upwards or downwards, and any which
may cross one another or interlace, anC
as a rule all tertiaries.
Arrived at this stage, you will Teadi
ly see where your coming crop is to bt
harvested, and how much wood to leav,
on, and what to take off; as also max,
provision for the wood which is II
bear the crop of the year following
/ Now proceed by removing all dead ant
decaying wood, then branches which
are past bearing, or from which las
years crop was harvested. Thes,
ought to be on alternate sides of thr