Trinidad 



327 



handed it to me as we came out. It was about ten 

 inches long. The cacao (Theobroma cacao) is the plant 

 from the seeds of which chocolate is produced. The 

 pod is long, cylindrical, tapering at either end, and fluted. 

 When ripe it is greenish yellow in color striped with dull 

 pink. The bush or small tree, from the branches of 

 w^hich the pods hang singly here and there, loves the 

 shade of deep forests, growing in rich moist soil. In its 

 form it somewhat recalls the papaw (Asimina triloba) 

 of the Indiana and Kentucky woodlands, which also 

 loves the shade. Cocoa is one of 

 the staple exports of Trinidad. On 

 our rides both to and from the reser- 

 voirs we noticed that ferns, and 

 especially tree-ferns, were not un- 

 common. Various aroids, belonging 

 to the genera Philodendron, Anthu- 

 rium, and their allies, were conspicu- 

 ous. Liverworts of several genera 

 and species were seen by me as I 

 wandered about in the shady woods 

 in quest of moths, of which I caught 

 a few. In the open spaces by the wayside butterflies 

 were quite numerous. I succeeded in capturing a num- 

 ber of Hesperids and Lycsenids. Didonis biblis with 

 its black wings margined with vermilion was very 

 common among the bushes and in half -shaded places, 

 while Anartia jatrophce and Anartia amalthea literally 

 swarmed in the low grasses and weeds by the wayside. 

 Two species of Catopsilia were congregated in damp 

 spots on the road, just as the common Clover-butterfly 

 (Colias) gathers in similar places in the summer-time at 

 home. 



The view of the rich tropical vegetation of the island 



Fig. 30. Pod of 

 Cacao, ii) nat. size. 



