The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-25

/ until the blossom mas set, ana comps
the work even at an apparent sacrifice
I OF crop.
/ The pruning of a coffee tree is based
upon somewhat similar principles as
those OF the fruit men in California
when pruning their orchards or their
grape vines. II 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 a 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 we'll
matured; 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 it's turn,
working from the stem to the extremi-
ty, and remove first all branches grow
ing in direction toward the center of
the tree, all those growing vertically
upwards or dOwnwards, and any which
may cross one another or interlace, and
as a rule all tertiaries.
Arrived at this stage, you will readi-
Iy see where your coming crop is to be
harvested, and how much wood to leave
on, and what to take off; as also make
provision for the wood which is to
bear the crop of the year following.
NOW proceed by removing all dead and
decaying wood, then branches which
are past bearing, or from which last
years crop was harvested These
ought to be on alternate sides of the
primaries, those on the opposite sides
having been trained to produce the com
ing years crop. Examine the extremity
OF the primary, and if it is black, in
jured or devoid of foliage, shorten it |
back by cutting it off close to the first
healthy secondary. Any branches that
may be broken or twisted out of shape |
should be cut back to the sound wood. |
close to healthy secondary Continue |
the operations above described with all |
he primaries, going carefully around |
The tree, and do not overlook any |
branches which are intended to come |
on 1t may not always be possible to /
AIRY out the above plan in detail for |
tree may have lost one or more pri- |
narieS. In such case it will be neces-
'ary to train tertiaries from some con-
Tenient secondary to fill the gap, for it
S essential to keep the tree as symetri-
al in form as possible, and have the
gearing wood regularly and evenly dis
r1buted around the tree As soon as
he last blossom has set on the sec
'ndaries for that years crop, it will be
1me to train alternate ones on the
side of the primaries for the
me in the year following.
The result of pruning a coffee tree is
omewhat similar to that caused by top
ing; numerous secondaries will make
heir appearance, sometimes in clusters
Il two and three, especially from the
o1nts where branches have been re-
moved by the knife. 1t is at this stage
nd at subsequent intervals, that the
of systematic handling can
re appreciated. If all such growth were
lot promptly removed they would de-
-elOp until the coffee tree became a /
ense thicket, with mass of distorted
growing in all directions, i'm
'erVlous to both sunshine and air; the
uckers would become COMMANDERS.
nd all the energies of the tree, which
~ the laboriOus pruning had been di-
ected towards the formation of berry.
would be lost. Handling, therefore.
must be carefully carried out as often
S may be required, which to a great |
Xtent will depend upon the nature of
he season and the local conditions of
he climate in which the plantation may
e situated.
The style of handling now required
S precisely similar to that previously
described, only it will be more extern
i've and will require close supervision
o see that the work is properly done,
or there will be an abundance of fresh
rood which must be removed
Proceed in the same manner as before
by first thinning out the center of the
rec; then turn your attention to the
rimarieS, each one in it's turn, and
axe off all the fresh secondaries which
ave made their appearance since prun-
ng, especially where the knife was
sed, where they will be found in clus-
ers, care being taken, however, not to
isturb those trained for next years
rOp. Should any of these prove to be
ickly, or weak, they may be substi-
lted by allowing a healthier one to
axe their place, and the weaker one
hOuld be removed with the knife if
ecessary. Now look along the sec
ndaries which are from bearing wood
)r this year, and unless they are de-
cient in foliage remove all the terti- {
ries. Should a gap occur a tertiary I
lay be left to fill the space
In handling along the secondaries
reat care must be exercised not to dis {
lrb the crop, or spike, should there
e any on the tree. In fact, in all prun-
lg and handling the greatest care is
equlred so as not to injure branches ,
Y undue haste or careless treatment {
is far better to take more time and {