CACAO. 259 



crowned with waving branches, a notable object in 

 surrounding vegetation, the cacao seldom reaches a 

 height of over thirty feet, and would be passed by 

 without notice, were it not for its peculiar fruit. It 

 flourishes only in damp valleys, on the sides of shady 

 hills, and embosomed among mountain forests, where 

 the surrounding scenery is eminently interesting. 



So little care does it need, and growing, as it does, 

 in soil so rocky that it will produce nothing else, 

 nearly every negro in the island has a few trees 

 around his hut, which yield him sufficient for his 

 simple wants. I found this to operate greatly to my 

 disadvantage, where, among the mountains, all lug- 

 gage must be transported on the heads of the people, 

 as I could get no one to carry my camping equip- 

 ments. By the aid of a half crazy mulatto, named 

 Maunie, I was able to reach a valley on the eastern 

 side of the mountain range ; but once there he left 

 me, and for several days I was obliged to remain 

 among the cacao groves, unable to return. My stay 

 was made delightful by the attentions of the physician 

 of the district, Doctor Lang, and the parish priest, 

 Canon Bond, both genial and cultivated gentlemen. 

 Through the valley ran the largest river in the 

 island, Cacao River, which in the rainy season over- 

 flowed its banks and committed great havoc among 

 the trees of the cacaotiere, or cacao grove. The trees 

 grow to the height of twenty feet, some to thirty, 

 with a leaf something like that of the chestnut. The 

 tops of the trees are intergrown, forming dense shade, 

 beneath which, among the smooth stems, one can 

 walk in comfort even at noon. Dead and fallen 

 leaves strew the ground thickly, even as the chestnut 



