August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



^55 



other food, not eating till sunset. It was banned in 

 this country under Queen Anne out of hatred to 

 Spain (or to the Jesuits), the doctors declaring th.it 

 it waii an enemy to the fecundity of the human race. 

 Such effects have never been noted in South America, 

 where barrenness is exceedingly rare. 



It is not to the interest of the tea-merchants or the 

 vevenno that we should get Yerba at a penny a pound, 

 but whenever Yerba becomes common here we shall 

 have fewer prisons, lunatic asylums, &c., as " driuU " 

 will be on the decline. 



Jesuit's b.irk (cinchona) has proved a business to 

 mankind, and the tea that bears their name may one 

 day be almost as much valued. 



If the doctors of Queen Anne's day had not been 

 insanely prejudiced, or, perhaps, bribed by the tea- 

 merchants, we should row have Yerba Mite in as 

 generiil use here as in South America. The Irish 

 sheep-farmers in Buenos Ayres take it with sugar, but 

 if you can take it pure it is better. I like it amarijo, 

 in all its purity, just as much as I relish a cigar. — 

 Yours tiuly, Anglo-Porteno. 



London, May Sth. 



ME. D. MORRIS ON THE VARIETIES OF 

 CACAO (OR COCOA.) 

 Our readers interested in the cultivation of cacao 

 will be pleased to see the letter from the late As- 

 aistiint Director of our Botanic Gardens, in which he 

 summarizes information collected during a visit to 

 Trinidad and given in full detail in a lecture which 

 he recently delivered in Jamaica. The main points 

 are that there are two great varieties of the 

 cacao, — the creole and the foreign. "Creole" is a 

 term emplojed in the West Indies, not (as many 

 think) as tbe equivalent of half-caste, but quite the 

 contrary : a person, colonial born, but of pure descent. 

 In regard to natural productions the term seems to 

 have the same sense aa indigenous. In the case of 

 cacao, the belief is that the fine but delicate " Creole " 

 coffee was the only variety cultivated in Trinidad, 

 until a "blast" or huiricane wrought such destruction 

 that a foreign kind was introduced, which compens- 

 ates by its robustness for some inferiority of quality. 

 In the two main varieties, however, there are almost 

 endless snbvarieties, and no doubt, the plant is 

 specially amenable to the effects of careful cultiv- 

 ation. In this way what are deemed inferior varieties 

 in South America or the West Indies may develops 

 sui)erior qualities in Ceylon. Indeed, they seem to 

 have done so already, and although the Caraccae kinds, 

 especially the pale one, are described as of superior 

 quality, it may be Ihat like Ledgeriana amongst the 

 cinchonas and indigenous Assam amongst the teas : 

 delicacy of constitution and consequent difficulty in 

 cultivation may attend the choice of such superior 

 varieties Our planters wdl, of course, try all the 

 existing kinds, and it is probable they will in time 

 develope a Ceylon hybrid or variety of a specially 

 good type. Miaulime the proper prcpaiaticn of such 

 beans as are produced saems to be quite as important 

 as the choice of kinds to cultivate. As yet, such 

 small parcels of tbe Ceylon beans as have reached 

 the market seem to have been well prepared and of 

 good quality, and we trust no effort nill be spared 

 to preserve the good reputation of Ceylon-grown 

 cacao. On that product, with Liberian coffee, tea and 



cinchona, the future of the island and its enterprize 

 and industry seem now largely to depend, — although 

 we do not despair of the revival of old King Coffee 

 of Abyssinia via Arabia. 



MR. D. MORRIS ON THE TWO CLASSES OF 

 CACAO: C. CRIOLLA AND C. FORASTERO, 

 Botanical Department, Gordon Town, 

 Jamaica, 22nd May 1882. 

 Sirs, — Having lately returned from a six weeks' 

 trip to Trinidad and the Southern Islands for the 

 purpose of looking up cacao cultivation, I gave the 

 results in a lecture before the Institute of Jauiaica, 

 particulars of which will bo found in the accompany- 

 ing papers. 



The lecture itself will be shortly published, and 

 hence it is uunecessiry for me to enter into any 

 minute details at present. There are, however, ono 

 or two points relating to cacao in Ceylon from what 

 I gather in jour valuable publications — the Overland 

 Observer and the IVopical JijrkulturUt^whiL'h deserve 

 some attention ; and I would mention them in the 

 hope of throwing some light on the relative merits 

 of the varieties now under cultivation there. So far 

 as I have been able to gather, all the varieties of 

 cacao cultivated in the West Indies and Venezuela 

 may be grouped under two large classes, viz.. Cacao 

 CuioLLA ami Cacao Fokasteuo. Cacao criolla was 

 formerly the only kind cultivated in Trinidad, but, 

 according to M. Joseph, in his history of Trinidad, 

 a blast* affected the plantations to such ,an extent 

 that the cultivation was almost ruined. 



This result was attributed at the time to the delic- 

 ate character of the cueao eriolla, which in addi- 

 tion was said to be a poor yielder and uusuited to 

 the climate. Under these circumstances, the more 

 robust and hardy cacao foraslero (literally foreign 

 cacao) was introduced, and of late years this ha-i 

 entirely supplanted the cacao criollo.f In fact, with 

 the exception of some two or three trees here and 

 there (one of which was pointed out to me by Mr. 

 Prcstoe in the Botanical Gardens) there is practically 

 now no cacao criolla in Trinidad. It is chiefly con- 

 fined at the present time to the mainland ol Vene- 

 zuelii, and it doubtless yields some, if not most, of 

 the celebrated Caracas cacao of commerce. . The pods 

 in this kind are -of a red colour and smaller than 

 those of the Forastero class (generally about 6 or 8 

 inches long). When young, the end next the stalk is 

 somewhat cons' rioted or narrowed ; the other end is 

 pointed aud sbghily turned to one side. The 

 chief difference, however, exists in the seeds. These 

 are much thicker than in any other kintl of cacao 1 am 

 acquainted with ; very short, almost globular, and with 

 the iut-rior (when frtsb) of a pale, crimsou colour. 



The produce of cavao criollo, when welUnred, is of a 

 much finer flavour than the more robust Foristcro class. 

 Posses.-iing also a larger proportion of essential oil and 

 less bitterness, it requires less fermentatiiu and has 

 better keeping qualiiies. As eo much is th( ught every- 

 where of Caracas cacao, I have been ende vouring for 

 the last two lears to procure pods ofallth' best kinds 

 cidiivated on the Main, and, after receiving several con- 

 siiininents of fruit as well as cured beai;«, from La 

 Gnayra — the port of Caracas — and other p' ices, I am 

 inclined to believe that there is no distinciive variety 

 which may be termed Caracxs cacao ither than what is 

 kuown as Creole cacao. Th it is, Caracas cacao, if the 

 produce of any welldelined variety, is pr.)bably that 

 of C'icao rrioltd. 1 may, however, be wronj; in my sup- 

 position ; but Igivetbe result of my enqi'iries so far. 



• A hurricane. — Ed. 



t The Creole cacao. — Ed. 



