41 



(b) Pick out strong and vigorous young plants, and take them 



up, if possible, without breaking their roots, and with the 

 earth around them. 



(c) Let the ground be in a tolerably moist condition. 



(d) Prepare holes (varying from l8 to 24 inches in diameter) 



with well rotted vegetable manure, and finely pulverized 



soil, into which place the young plants, and fill up the 



holes, so as to leave no hollows wherein water may 



lodge. 



Cocoa — The cocoa tree frequently requires the protective 



shade of another tree to thrive, and the younger it is the more 



it requires shade, hence the banana suffices at first, but the 



Immortel tree {Erythriiia) protects its after-life. This shade tree is 



planted either as young plants or seeds, in the interval between 



every third cocoa, or about 36 to 42 feet apart. A warm, moist 



climate is necessary for the cultivation of cocoa, if large crops are 



expected ; but when the soil is suitable, the trees will grow and 



give fair returns in a moderately dry place. 



Soil. — On account of its long tap root, which attains 7 feet or 

 more, it only thrives advantageously in rich and deep loamy soils, 

 and especially if these are formed by the decomposition of 

 volcanic rocks. The best soil is that covered with a vegetable 

 deposit which has accumulated from the falling leaves and 

 branches of the original forest. If land can be found on the banks 

 of a river where there is a considerable depth of alluvial deposit, 

 such a position, if well drained, is an ideal spot. The tap root of 

 the cocoa tree, being the continuation of its stem, penetrates the 

 soil directly downwards, so that in flat lands, to insure its proper 

 development, the soil must be comparatively deeper than that of 

 both undulating and hilly lands. In flat lands, therefore, both the 

 soil and subsoil must be porous and friable. If the sub-soil is over 

 clayey, stiff or retentive, the growth, after a few years, either de- 

 teriorates or becomes stunted, and the tree perishes, while during 

 the rainy season, the water instead of draining off, becomes stag- 

 nant, thus gradually rotting the roots. As a rule, a fertile cocoa 

 soil must be rich in nitrogen, with a high percentage of potash, 

 and a fair proportion of lime, and phosphoric acid. 



Hard dry, rocky soils, stiff clays, a shallow soil resting on rock, 

 mountain sides, where great detrition frequently takes place, shal- 

 low lands, and boggy land should be avoided. 



NOTES ON WATERING PLANTS IN GARDENS. 



By W. J. Thompson, F.R.H.S., 



Travelling Instructor & Superintendent of Parade Gardetis. 



In travelling about the Island one not only sees time being 

 wasted in unnecessary watering of plants in gardens, but the 

 plants themselves are actually injured by too liberal supplies of 

 water, and I know of cases where the owners give themselves a 



