394 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[November i, 1882. 



other useful plants. Ipecacuanha followed cinchona, but 

 up to the present time its success is far from being 

 ensured. 



In the Island of Oeylon, wliere the coffee plantations 

 hare been .so devastated by the attacks of the HemUeia 

 vastutrix, it is satisfactory to know tliat the cocoa (Theo- 

 hroma Cacao ), has been successful, and quite recently some 

 of Vie be-.', vari-livs of cocoa plants have been transferred 

 to Singapore and Fiji. On this subject we quote the 

 following from the Kew Beport for 1S80 — 



"Mr. Home, the director of the Mauritius Botanic Garden, 

 having visited Fiji, at the instance of the governor. Sir 

 A. H. Gordon, reported to the Colonial Office that it 

 was peculiarly desirable to introduce into the islands, as 

 well as the earsteru colonies, -the twelve or thirteen 

 superior varieties of the cocoa plant in cultivation in 

 Trinidad.' Arrangements were accordingly made, and iu 

 the course of last autumn (1880), seven Wardian cases 

 of cocoa plants were received from Trinidad at Kew 

 in excellent order, and after examination and repacking 

 transmitted to Oeylon, whence it was arranged that 

 portions of the collection should be sent to Singapore 

 and Fiji respectively. The transmission to Ceylon was 

 fairly successful, and Dr. Trimen has since made the 

 distribution. Indiridual planters in the East have already 

 largely supplied themselves with cocoa seed from Trinidad. 

 It was thought that it would be advantageous, however, 

 to have in the Botanic Gardens of the colonies above 

 mentioned standard collections of larieties for future ob- 

 servation and experiment. In an official report on the 

 subject, Mr. Prestoe, the government botanist at Trini- 

 dad, remarks: — "The best kinds are by no means well 

 known. Indeed, with tlie majority of growers here they 

 are not known at all, and they never notice a difference 

 in the character of the trees, nor that of the s.imple of 

 produce, except in respect of the Oalabacillo, or wild 

 cocoa, and this they very rarely eliminate. In the whole 

 range of varieties, however, there is a difference in the 

 value yield of at least one to five. Under these circum- 

 stances, the value of the cocoa plants now forwarded 

 should be regarded as of rather a botanical or scientific 

 nature than as an agricultural or economic one for im- 

 mediate effect, for the variettes being separated and des- 

 cribed as far as it is practical to have them, there is a 

 base for experiments and tests as to what are their 

 real characters, and what may be done with them in the 

 way of improvement." As usually seen, the cocoa tree 

 averages 14 to IS feet in height, but if allowed to grow 

 without restraint would attain to 30 feet or more. The 

 leaves are very large, sometimes 7 inches in length.* The 

 plant flom-i.shes best at an elevation of not less than 500 

 feet above the sea. Notwithstanding that it delights in 

 great heat, it comes to the greatest perfection in sheltered 

 situations. In an exhau.stive paper on cocoa cultivation 

 read before the Society of Arts some years since, it is 

 stated that the cultivation of the plant extends more or 

 loss in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and 

 throughout almost the whole of Central America, Brazil, 

 Pern, Ecuador, New Grenada, Venezuela, Surinam, De- 

 merara, Essequibo, and the A\'e.st Indian islands ; it has 

 al.so been grown in Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Bourbon, 

 East Indies, Australia, and the Philippine Islands. Trini- 

 dad and Grenada are the sources of the chief supplies, 

 and they perhaps afford upon their we.stern shores the 

 finest po.ssible sites of cocoa plantations. The latter 

 country is of a particularly mountainous character, the 

 mountains attaining even an elevation of 3,000 feet, forming 

 many fertile valleys and fine rivulets, more numerous 

 perhaps than in any other island of equal extent, in 

 consequence of which it is well suited for cocoa cultiv- 

 ation. Considering the fine qualities of cocoa produced 

 in Grenada, that country may be looked upon as the 

 tyije or copy for planters and cultivators iu other parts 

 of the world, and the follomng notes refer more parti- 

 cularly to the system of cultivation as carried on in 

 Grenada. Upon gi-ound of a steep, hilly character, such 

 as is found in that country, the .site recommended should 

 have a west or south-westerly aspect. The crop is said 

 to be more regular, and the outturn more abundant in 

 plantations where there are hills and va lleys rather than 



*On young trees in Ceylon they attain a length of 

 over 2 feet. — Ed. 



upon a level. In con.sequence of the tenderness of the 

 flowers of the cocoa-tree, it is be.st to select a site for 

 a new plantation not too_ fully expo.sed to the effects of 

 high winds, for, from this cause alone, cocoa crops are 

 often defective. The question of shade for trees is also 

 a very im])ortant one in the proper management of a 

 cocoa plantation, especially on level situations. On this 

 head we are told : " An alluvi.al plain, where obtainable 

 with the necessary qualifications and in the proper 

 situation, grows a fine quality of cocoa, but does not 

 necessarily yield the best return. When planted on such 

 a site the cocoa requires to be interspersed with tall 

 trees to obtain the neces.sary coolness, moisture, and pro- 

 tection from the winds. The Ei-i/thiina umhrosa or Corallo- 

 dendron, called in the country " Bois immortal," is much 

 planted in Trinidad, but it must be said of the sy.stem 

 that the trees keep out light .and air, which are great 

 necessaries. Much moisture is necessary to the perfection 

 of the cocoa, and where near a running stream of water 

 it grows most luxuriantly, but near a stagnant pond 

 withers .and dies ; while in the former case the water 

 furnishes a supply of moisture to the roots, which seems 

 to act beneficially ; in the latter it chills the roots and 

 destroys the tree. The leaves of the cocoa-tree ab.sorb a 

 large quantity of moisture, .and it is necessary for the 

 nurture of the tree that the atmosphere generally should 

 have a tendency to decided humiditry." 



Regarding soil, a very important consideration in a 

 cocoa plantation, it is necessary that it should be deep 

 and porous, the best is a loamy virgin forest soil where 

 there is a good deal of vegetable mould. Cocoa, however, 

 will thrive iu a stony soil because the roots cling to the 

 stones, from which it is sa.\A they derive a coolness* and 

 a certain amount of moisture, while they sometimes help 

 to break up the density of the soil. A retentive or 

 swampy soil .should in all cases be avoided. 



It is necessary before planting commences that the 

 ground should be thoroughly cleared of weeds. In conse- 

 quence of the tenderness of the cocoa plants wlien young 

 c.are^ should be taken that they are not exjiosed to a 

 blazing sun or any undue coldness of night air. To pro- 

 tect them from these effects many kicds of trees are 

 used whose broad foliage form a shelter, and at the same 

 time prevent the gi-owth of weeds. Amongst the trees 

 best suited for this purpose are the Plantain and Banana, 

 the fruits of which give a return during the three years 

 tliat the cocoa plants are coming into bearing. Besides 

 the Plantain and Banana some of the tuber yielding plants 

 are sometimes planted, such as the Manihot or Cassava 

 (Manikot iitilissima). Yams (Bioscorea sm>.), &c. From 

 April to June is the time best suited for planting the 

 cocoa, though, with proper care, the jjlanting may go on 

 throughout the year. The distance at which the plants 

 should be sepai-.ated varies according to the quality of the 

 soil, the most .satisfactory distance seems to be 10 feet a.s- 

 under for a poor soil, 15 feet for good land and on 

 rich virgin soils as much as seventeen or eighteen feet, 

 taken throughout in Grenada, if planted about twelve 

 feet apart, it is about the best average distance. The 

 system adopted by the natives in Grenada of close plant- 

 ing is a great fallacy as is evidenced by the yield obtained 

 by them. It is not, however, expedient to allow the tree 

 to gi-ow_ larger than can be thoroughly nourished; indeed, 

 to obtain the fullest extent of fruit the cocoa tree must 

 be pruned in, and in a measure stunted, and the earlier 

 the land can be covered iu the better as the weeds, so loug 

 as they have light and air, will grow stronger and more 

 rapidly than the cocoa." 



Care should be taken to plant in parallel lines and the 

 avenues at right angles mth the lines ; by this means a 

 better current of .air is maintained amongst the plants, 

 and the work of the plaut.ation can be carried on more 

 methodically, and a better supervision maintained. Practice 

 shows that it is better to plant throe or four seeds in the 

 space where a single tree is required so as to ensure the 

 gi-owth of one, and when the growth of one is ensured 

 the others, if germinated, can be removed. More than 

 one seed, however, should not be placed iu one hole as 

 they .are apt to sweat and cause decay. On the subject 

 of maimre in the cultivation of cocoa it is said that should 

 it be deemed adrisable to apply it, it should lie done by 



* Warmth, sm'ely. — Ed. 



