IS2 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August r, 1882. 



Long, nnd others, to show that in the seveiiteeth cent- 

 ury, cacao iQ Jamaica was very generally grown and 

 W.18 of great importance among th« exports. But it 

 declined on account of "blast" or hurricaues and of 

 the excessive duties imposed upon it in England, 

 amounting to 480 per cent of the value. The demand 

 for cacao, in response to whiih the cultivation had 

 been resumed here, was increasing every diiy, the 

 anijual consumption of cacao, b^ing now from 100 to 

 110 million pounds. Although not a cacao "plantiitiou' 

 can be found in Jamaica the foundations of a new cacao 

 industry are bemg laid. Mr. Morris, in giving a sketch 

 of the history of cacao, stated that a member of the 

 family was suid by Martius lo be a native of Jamaica. 

 It was known as Thi-ohroma si,lvestre and grew wild. 

 Its presence now is doubtful, liul the fact, if verified, 

 would tend to encourage those who were embarking 

 in the eut;erpiize, as 'proving that the island possesses 

 the initial elements of soil and climate for the siic- 

 ceseful cultiviition of cacao. 



Mr. Morris gave a long and interesting description 

 o£ the various kinds of Theobroma cacao, as Liuuseus 

 named tlie tree, and showed the manner of its growth 

 from plants on the platform. He called attention to 

 the fact that he had already recommended for Jamaica the 

 cultivatmn of the best kinds of Trinidad cacao and he 

 insisted on the necessity of growing only cacao of the 

 best quality. Speaking of the forastero cacao now grown 

 in Trmidad to the exclu.sion of all other varieties, he 

 said that unfortunately " of the kinds already estab- 

 lished in Jamaica, the calabacillo (the lowest quality 

 of forastero and uever_ cidtivated by a careful Trini- 

 dad planter) being the hardiest has unfortunately sur- 

 vived in remote places, and I fear is being largely 

 cultivated by settlers under the impression that all 

 cacao of whatever variety is equally good." Happily 

 from 20,000 to 30,000 of the best Trinidad varieties 

 have already been distributed to planters in Jamaica, 

 and it is hoped that when these have fruited there 

 will be a supply of seeds available for thoroughly 

 establishing the most valuable kinds in the island. 



In treating of the cultivation of cacao, Mr. Morris 

 observed, that as concerned temperature and rainfall, 

 some of the plains .and valleys of J.amaica were no 

 doubt admirably adapted for the cultivation of cacno. 

 "Although Jamaica is about 7i degrees further north 

 than Trinidad and nearly 6 [degrees further north 

 than Grenada, it is almost in the same latitude as 

 some of the best cacao districts of Mexico and Guite- 

 mala." A consideration of the facts connected with 

 climate, latitude, &c., led him to the conviction, how- 

 ever, that in Jamaica the successful culiivation would 

 be confined to the moister vallej'S and hollows, up 

 to 500 feet, well protected from winds. Cacao was 

 already apparently at himie in glades among the St. 

 Andrew Ked Hills, in the Wag Water Vallej, in the 

 Bath and Plantain Garden River districts, and in many 

 parts of St. George and Portland. The rainfall should 

 not be below an average of 60 inches per annum, nor 

 the mean annual temperature below 75 deg. Fah., and 

 the soil should be deep and moderately rich, the 

 preference being given to that containing a certain pro- 

 portion of lime or marl. 



Mr. Morris proceeded to give directions as to selec- 

 tion of land, cleaning, planting at stake and from nurse. 

 ries, shade trees and timber belts for shelter, tlte 

 treatment of the plant until bearing time came, prun- 

 ing, weeding, ni'inuring, the best methods of picking 

 and malting and preparing for market, &c. For shade 

 in Jamiiiea, he approved bananas, and the sandbox tree 

 in place of the Immortelle hitlierto patronized in 

 Trinidad. He cundenined strongly the present pro- 

 cesses in vogue here tor washing and firying cacio, 

 and recomm nderl the Trinidad curing houses, models 

 of which he exhibited, for the purpose of sweating 

 the beans. He also called attention to theolaying of the 



beans, for which the red earth of Jamaica was 

 very suitable. The adoption of the improved methods 

 would add tliousauds of pounds yearly to the value of 

 J maica cacao. 



The lecture was illustrated as follows : — 



Diagrams — ( 1 . ) Plan of cacao estate, first year. 



(2.) Varieties of cacao. 



(3.) Return of cacao shipped from Jamaica, 187.5-80. 



(4.) Coloured drawings, shewing leaves and flowers 

 of cacao tree ; flower magnified ; Forastero, Colorado 

 and Amarillo varieties of fruit — method of cutting 

 fruit — cacao hook. 



Models — Cacao house for 300 acres ; ditto for 10 

 acres. 



Cacao hook for gathering crop. 



Samples; — Cured cacao — " Caracas" — " Trinidad "— 

 "San Antoni. " — "San Jose" — "Good Red" — "Good 

 Ordinary" — "Jamaica Cacao" — Clay forenring cacao. 



Specimens: — Criollo — Forastero — Amarillo, Colorado, 

 TruxUliano, Amelonado, Calabacillo. Varieties of 

 Jamaica-grown cacao — Growing specimens of cacao and 

 Immortelle trees. 



At the close of the lecture, the Hon. G. Henderson, 

 Mr. Francis of Cedar Valley Mr. Harrison, the Rev. 

 Mr. Uowner and Mr, Kelly Smith spoke on the sub- 

 ject. A vote of thanks was passed, in the usual way, for 

 the lecturer.— Jamaica ^Yeekly Gleaner, 11th May 1882. 



CACAO (COCOA) CULTIVATION IN JAMAICA. 



We are sanguine enough to look for very happy 

 and beneficial results from the lecture upon cacao 

 cultivation delivered by Mr. Morris on Tuesday night 

 at the Towuhall. In our opinion the lecture is 

 destined to give a stimulus to this cultivation oom- 

 meusuiate with the stimulus given to cinchona by the 

 earlier efforts of Mr. Morris. People who have not 

 been through the mountainous distiict n few miles 

 out north of Kingston and including St. Catherine's 

 Peak and Blue Mountain, can hardly conceive of the 

 vast extent of private land now under cinchona, but 

 which before the arrival of our preseut hardworking 

 Director of Puldic Gardens and Plantations was liter- 

 ally a burden on the owners. What has thus been 

 done for the hills, Mr. Morris offers to do for the 

 valleys, and he advocates that between the sugar of 

 the plains and the cinchona of the peaks should come 

 Liberian cofi'ee to supplement the Arabian coffee and 

 cac&o cultivation to go hand in hand with banana cult- 

 ivation. It is most encouraging to learn from a com- 

 petent jud^e who, as his lecture showed, has taken 

 infinite trouble to study tlie subject, that Jamaica 

 presents a favourable field for cacao. 



All who are interested in cacao cultivation here, or 

 desire to become so, will doubtless obtain the lecture 

 for themselves, in full, as e.arly as possible, and take 

 advantage of its practical instruction. We may remark 

 that Mr. Morris points out how, from the very hour 

 when the seed is dropped and the plant begins to grow, 

 the presext methods of the cacao industry in Jamaica 

 may be improved. Tlie piece of advice which is es- 

 pecially striking is that with regard to curing. We ap- 

 pear to be wholly in the wrong in Jamaica in the manner 

 of preparing cacao for the market, aud the sooner scienti- 

 fic niethocis are in vogue here the better it will be 

 for the cacao growers and the reputation of their pro- 

 duct. Mr. Prestoe, the Botanist of Trinidad, in hia 

 last rep'irt, speaking of the old, careless process of cur- 

 ing, advocates the same system as j\ir. Morris does, and 

 says of the cacao under the old system that, i>y the time 

 it IS shipped, it is only little better than decayed veget- 

 able tissue. 



Mr. Morris, although he does not promise tb it, by 

 improvement all round, Jamaica cacao can obtain the 

 price of the Trinidad " San Antonio," from lOSs to 



