196 



lieve in Dominca and the Northern Islands they grow the Pois 

 doux {Inga diilcis.) 



Dr. H. A. A. NiCHOLLS : They use it for shelter belts, not as a 

 shade tree. 



The President : I should like to ask Mr. deGannes what he re- 

 gards as an average yield either per tree or per thousand trees in 

 Trinidad ? 



Mr. J. G. DEGanNES: Twelve bags, of I/O lb. each, to each 

 thousand trees planted 12 feet apart. 



Mr. E. M. DEFreitas : The average yield in Grenada is 4 bags, 

 of 1961b. each, per acre. 



The President : So far, we have had no experience as to the 

 relative values of Criollo and Forastero. 



Mr. J. G. DEGannes : Criollo was put aside altogether because 

 the yield was poor : it is a delicate tree for Trinidad. I under- 

 stand that even in Venezuela there are certain parts of the coun- 

 try where it does not thrive at all. 



The President : Would it be any advantage to graft the 

 Criollo on to the Forastero stock ? 



Mr. J. G. DEGannes : It might be tested on a practical scale. 



Mr. J. H. Hart : Our experience with grafting is very small at 

 present. The Forastero is the strongest-growing cocoa, but the 

 Criollo produces a cocoa of the highest quality. The question of 

 shade, I think, might be usefully gone into. I have discussed it 

 many times and have come to the conclusion that shade is abso- 

 lutely necessary for Trinidad. I am equally certain that shade is 

 not necessary for Grenada. I have heard the story of a Grenada 

 planter who came to Trinidad to teach the planters here how to 

 grow cocoa without shade. He bought an estate and carried out 

 the experiment by cutting down all the shade trees with the result 

 that he had to replant them, as he found it impossible to grow 

 cocoa here without shade. If ever you see a bad patch of cocoa 

 here the planters' explanation is that the trees have not sufficient 

 shade. 



The President : I should like to suggest for the consideration 

 of the Agricultural Society whether during next year they could 

 put an acre of the Criollo variety of cocoa in cultivation. The 

 results might be sufficiently reliable to justify an extension of it 

 later on, or to abandon it altogether. I know Mr. Hart would be 

 willing to join in an experiment of that sort, and it would be use- 

 ful to the colony. 



Dr. H. A. A. NiCHOLLS : Mr. Hart has declared, ex cathedra, 

 that cocoa cannot be grown in Trinidad without shade trees. 

 I do not think the argument used by him fully warrants that de- 

 claration, because one can very well understand that cutting down 

 shade trees from among cocoa trees brought up with shade, is 

 very different to growing cocoa trees up to maturity and then cut- 

 ting down the shade. The proper test as to whether cocoa can 

 best be grown in Trinidad with or without shade, is to endeavour 



