Vol. IV. Xo. 8.5. 



THE AGKICULTUEAL NEWS. 



219 



OASTILLOA AS SHADE FOR CACAO. 



On p. 105 of this volume of the Agricidtural 

 News brief mention was made of an article by 

 M. P. Cibot, reproduced in the Tropical Agriculturist 

 (February- 190.5), de.soriptive of cacao cultivation in 

 Venezuela. The writer draws special attention to the 

 possibility of carrying on rubber planting as an adjunct 

 to cacao cultivation by using Castilloa trees as shade 

 for cacao. 



In view of the importance of this phase of the 

 subject, and of the interest that has been aroused in 

 the West Indies generally in the prospects of rubber 

 planting, the following exti'acts are reproduced: — 



1 have recently had the opportunity in A^enezuela of 

 viiiiting one of the principal plantations which produce that 

 cacao, so ju.stly reputed, known as Caracas. I found 

 opportunity there to study also a plantation of Castilloa 

 elastica used as a shade tree. 



General Fonseca, installed in tlie fertile valley for some 

 twenty years, has gradually acquired the greater part of the 

 plantations laid out in it. He owns to-day thirteen 

 plantations, producing a total of 480,000 lb. cacao in 190.3-4. 



Going over General Fonseoa's plantations, I could not 

 but admire their beautiful appearance and the care taken 

 with the irrigation of the whole property ; but my attention 

 was specially drawn to the plantation of Castilloa elastica 

 mentioned above. In 1890, when they were only beginning 

 to think of plantations of rubber tree.s in South America, 

 General Fonseca was among the first to realize the value of 

 giving as shade to cacao, in place of the trees formerly used 

 and which served no purpose beyond that of screens, such 

 a tree as Castilloa, able to furnish a valuable product. He 

 imported .5,000 Castilloa seeds from Costa Rico ; but these 

 seeds, badly packed, lost their germinating powers, and only 

 seventy seedlings could be raised. The young plants, after 

 some months, were planted out in different parts of Las 

 Monjas estate, amongst the cacao trees, which gave them 

 favourable shade. These Castilloas developed admirably. 



In 1895 these first trees fruited; the seeds were 

 carefully collected and planted in nurserie.s, and in 1895-6 

 about 8,000 plants were put out in places where shade was 

 wanted for the cacao trees These trees, aged eight to nine 

 years now, are a beautiful sight; they have attained a height of 

 36 to 45 feet, and have an average circumference of 33 inches. 



At about four or five years the Castilloas easily outgrow 

 the cacao trees and commence to give them a little shade. 

 As they plant up Castilloas on the property, they kill out 

 the 'Bucare.s,' or other shade trees, ring-barking them with 

 the axe at about a yard above the ground. 



The yield of Castilloa plantations is no longer to be 

 doubted ; the result obtained at Ocumare is a new proof, but 

 the experiment made by General Fonseca is specially remark- 

 able as it shows that the Castilloa can be grown among cacao 

 trees without in any way harming their production. Indeed, 

 at Ocumare they have noticed no diminution in the number 

 of pods carried by the trees shaded by Castilloa, nor any 

 change in the quality of the bean. 



In the same number of the Tropical Agri- 

 culturist (p. 529) the following extract is published 

 from a letter from 'a well-known planter at Matale,' 



Ceylon, in which he sums up his experience in regard 

 to Castilloa and cacao as follows : — 



1 have very large Castilloas growing both along roads 

 and also scattered through cacao, the latter of about fourteen 

 years' growth showing no evidence of prejudicial influence 

 from the Castilloas. My clearing of some 30 acres of 

 Castilloa and cacao, planted together six years ago, so far 

 supports the contention that these two products may be 

 grown together. 



ADULTERATION OP MILK. 



In the last issue of the Agricultural News 

 (p. 206) reference was made to a report of the 

 Government Analyst in British Guiana on the 

 adulteration of milk in that colony. Efforts are also 

 being made in Trinidad and Jamaica to check the .sale 

 of adulterated milk, as is shown by the following 

 extracts from the Annual Reports on the Government 

 Laboratories in the two colonie.?. 



Professor P. Carmody, Government Analyst in 

 Trinidad, makes the following reference to this 

 matter : — 



The percentage of adulterated samples has fallen from 

 the very high figures of previou.s years (usually above 33 per 

 cent.) to 19 per cent. This improvement is due mainly, 

 I believe, to the introduction of Ijadges, to the continued 

 efforts of the Police Department, and particularly to the 

 suspension of licences of sellers convicted of adulteration 

 during the previous year. The rule at present adopted by 

 the Board of Health is to refuse to renew the licence for three 

 months if one conviction has been recorded during the year, 

 six months for two convictions, and refusal of licence 

 altogether if more than two convictions. The rule came into 

 operation in February this year, but it has had already a most 

 salutary effect, for the percentage of samples to which water 

 has been added has fallen to 5-9 during the month of April, 

 and to 12-7 for the quarter ended March 31 last. In the 

 previous year the Board of Health did not refuse the renewal 

 of licences, either temporarily or permanently, but only issued 

 warnings. Samples have been taken from milk sellers in the 

 morning and evening and on Sundays, but the adulteration of 

 evening and Sunday milk was not shown to be greater than 

 that of the morning supply. Contrary to usual experience 

 in country district.s, the milk supply of Princes' Town 

 appears to be very much adulterated and requires more 

 frequent sui^ervision. 



Dr. H. H. Cousins, in his report on the Jamaica 

 Government Laboratory, which was briefly reviewed in 

 the last issue of the Agricultural N'ews (p. 205), 

 writes as follows: — 



The Adulteration of Food and Drugs Law of 1898 has 

 practically remained a dead-letter until this year, when the 

 police started to check the milk supply of Kingston. From 

 nine such samples, three convictions for selling adulterated 

 milk were obtained. In British (IJuiana and in Trinidad 

 the Government Chemists are active in the vv'ork of detecting- 

 adulteration. In the former colony 892 samples of food 

 and drugs were examined in 1903-4, of which 20 per cent, 

 were adulterated, and for which fines amounting to £115 

 were inflicted. I have hesitated to advocate a serious 

 campaign under the Adulteration Law owing to the 

 limitations of the staff, and the pre-eminent claims of the 

 agricultural work of the laboratory, but I think the time 

 has now come when more should be done in this direction. 



