November i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



38S 



I.— Soil should be good, rich and deep, or good loose and 

 gravelly, with free sub-soil drainage ; good soil with large 

 boulders and stones grows it well ; surface drainage is 

 necessary. 



II. — Shelter is absolutely essential. 



III.— Shade is advisable, but it should be grown with the 

 cacao — not left in clearing the jungle. 



IV.— Staking, of the plants from' the first to the third year 

 where there is wind is of the greatest importance, as from 

 want of this much mischief is caused, that shows in after 

 years. 



11. That the cacao "blight" is not nearly so serious 

 as was at one time thought, is we think, proved, and, if 

 the precautions as to shelter and shade are carried out 

 we behove, that, wherever the soil is good and the rain- 

 fall sufficient ; places now suffering will eventually re- 

 cover. Quick-growing trees such as the different kinds of 

 Erythriua should be planted through such places thicker 

 than they arc ultimately wanted so as to get up shelter 

 and shade with as little delay as possible. 



Plants from the seeds of the Erythrhia ///>{<>,/ grow quickly 

 anil attain in one year a height of over 12 feet with about 

 the same spread ; cuttings also grow rapidly. Some prefer 

 planting the cotton-tree which is a quick grower and 

 can be raised from cuttings as well as seed, and also yields 

 in a few years a valuable marketable commodity. 



12. We would here tender our thanks to Dr. Trillion 

 for so readily accompanying us in one of our visits and 

 for the patience and courtesy extended in examining and 

 reporting upon the numerous insects sent to him. 



(Signed) William Jaedine, 

 Axex. Ross. 

 For H. J. Vollae, 

 Alex. Ross. 



ADVICE TO YOUNG CACAO PLANTERS. 

 (Continued from page 333.) 



Roads. — In cutting roads you ought to consider 

 the best trace to connect ynur estate with the nearest 

 main or road connected with main road ; then carry 

 on your road from entrance of estate to the store 

 From I his road you must select the best spot to cut 

 a road for cart or hackery io take your raw produce 

 to store, your manure over the estate and 

 cured piodnce from store to nearest main road. 

 After you have got a good road traced and cut, bear- 

 ing in mind the above-mentioned points, then cut 

 branch roads from the above road, so as to have easy 

 access to all parts of tho estate, buugalow and lines. 

 An estate cart-road should not be steeper then one in 

 twenty feet, though one in fifteen is useful when no 

 better gradient can be got. It is well to have drains 

 along all your roads, unless you give a good Blopeiu- 

 wards to them and cut drains close above them. 



Drains. — In draining an estate, your object must be 

 to carry off superfluous rain-water into nearest ravine, 

 if your ravines are sufficiently close ; if not, you must 

 make some cross-drains where distance of ravines is 

 too great for drains to carry water to ravines. You 

 should always do your drains after roads are cut. 

 Eighteen inches deep and wide is always considered 

 a good size drain, and. from thirty to fifty feet apart 

 according the steepness of the laud ; the steeper the 

 and the closer the draiur, except when the soil is 

 lery wet oi swampy even flat land must be close 

 drained. There has been great mistakes made in 

 making drains too steep with no large silt holes out in 

 the drains whereby tons of soil have been lost to 

 estates. I would make my drains of a gradient not 

 steeper than one in thirty — with silt holes, say, four 

 by four and six feet deep at sufficient distance, apart 

 aud as much as possible on ridges, as it is on ridges 

 most soil is washed away ; and the soil accumulating 

 in these holes can be taken out, mixed with some 

 manure and given to plants on ridges, when they are 

 two thirds full. 



Water Holinc;. — It is well-known cacao likes lots 

 of moisture. To retain rain-water on estate, cut long 

 49 



and deep trenches to all your plants, say, from four to 

 eight feet long, eighteen inches wide aud deep, these 

 will also do for manure holes, Put iu all your weeds, 

 leaves, add some mauure and soil now and then until 

 your hole is near full ; then make another either im- 

 mediately above or on the side of the plant. 1 would 

 not lose an inch of rain-water if I could help it, and. 

 to stay evaporation of moisture from the trenches, 1 

 would always keep them full of light shrub, cut up 

 plantain stalks or mana in the dry season. Plants will 

 grow much faster with lots of raiu-»ater, &e. 



Distance — This will greatly dep-nd on the quality 

 of the laud and shelter: iu good rich soil well-sheltered, 

 twenty to twenty- live feet apart ; in poor soil or on 

 ridges, a little windy, eight or even six feet apart. 

 When lining, you should try and bring your lines a 

 little closer on ridges and further apart iu hollows 

 even then your lines will come straight again, if pro- 

 perly looked to Cacao planted amongst Arabian 

 coffee at fifteen feet apart will thrive well and not 

 injure coffee, but both require to be well nourished. 



Shade and Shelter. — If you open new laud, it is 

 easy for you to select jour shade trees or belts at 

 proper distances as may be required. 1 1 is acknow edged 

 by most planters in Ceylon as well as other countries 

 that shade is necessary for cacao. I am aware there 

 are some planters who say shelter is sufficient, and 1 

 hear there are some who actually say their best cacro 

 is in the open. In the latter case, I can only s») 

 those trees must stand in land which must have a 

 deep moist clayey subsoil, or, if you dij down some 

 six or eight feet, you will find water. Wind-baits, as 

 a rule, you cannot rely on. 1 have known wind-belts 

 selected and left by very experienced planters prove 

 a failure, as the wind somehow found an eotrance in 

 the magic circle and did more damage than if there 

 was no belt at all. On the other hand, iu hot dry 

 weather you will find the beat concentrated within 

 this belt so much greater (like Montclars system of 

 retaining moisture with coffee, where the heat iu dry 

 weather caged up around the tree did more damage 

 than the rain did good), that your cacio will luo-t 

 likely suffer. Further, you leave a hot-bed for all kinds 

 of insects, rats, beetles, grub, &e. Besides, you ought 

 to cut a deep treocn all around the belt to prevent 

 the jungle roots from taking the nourishment wanted 

 for your cacao. Even if you will clear away all the 

 underwood, plant a shrub, cinnamon, cardamoms 

 or crotou-oil under the large trees along boundary, 

 you will not be as safe as when you have an even 

 shade all through your cacao field. The next question 

 is where you have old coffee land to plant up or 

 land which was only lantana, shrub, mana or 

 patana (there is some very good laud for cacao of these 

 descriptions), what is the best shade and how close is 

 shade trees required. I have heard one experienced 

 planter say, some of his best cacao is in dense shade 

 and some very good cacao growing under Ceara rubber 

 trees :some prefer one shade some another. I know 

 shade trees of all descriptions, and find cacao doing 

 well under near all the different trees — when too thick 

 you can always thin out ; if too many surface roots 

 which injure your cacao cut them off. But, when you 

 come to the most profitable tree, then the crotou-oil 

 tree stands prominent ou account of its fruit; next comes 

 the jak on account of fruit and timber hereafter, if you 

 prevent the coolies from throwing the fruit on your 

 cacao or don't allow the fruit to get to ripe on the 

 trees and fall down of their own accord ; theu comes 

 the Erythrina nmbrosu, suriya, hog apple, rambutan, 

 soursop, Malay apple, milila, nutmeg, &c. I believe 

 the larger the variety of fruit and timber trees the 

 better. A variety of fruit-trees will keep away squirrels 

 and other insects from the cacao. Plantains as a temp- 

 orary shade are \ery good and useful afterwards to 

 be cut up in small pieces and put in your treMches 



