H 



insufficiently shaded, appeared to be quite credible, and tbe distance 

 of 28 feet between the shade trees did not seem too small. The ex- 

 planation seems to lie in the amount of the rainiall, the average at 

 the Botanic Garden for 13 years being 68.19 inches. In other parts 

 of Trinidad, for instance at the plantation " La Eeunion," the ramfall 

 wasfor 1896, 107 inches, for 1897, 101 inches, and for 1898, 93.5 inches. 

 The absence of shade trees in Grenada astonishes anyone who has 

 seen the cocoa plantations in Trinidad so carefully shaded, and he asks 

 with surprise how it is possible in the same latitude ? The reason for 

 this difference does not, however, lie in the fact that Grenada is ex- 

 tremely mountainous, and that it has deep depressions, so that the 

 plantations are only exposed to the sun during a few hours in the day. 

 This cannot be the cause, for in the first place the most extensive and 

 the best plantations are not situated between steep hills, but on the 

 contrary in the most level part of the island, where they are fully ex- 

 posed to the sun. Besides, the morning and evening sun is not of 

 much importance, and there is no mountain in Grenada sufficiently 

 lofty to be able to protect cocoa plantations against the sun after 9 

 o'clock in the morning. 



The principal reason is rather in the very large rainfall, in the sky 

 being much more overcast, and in the very great humidity of ihe air. 

 The resistance of the variety which is planted there, also counts for 

 something. A rainfall of less than 100 inches is a rarity in Grenada, 

 while it is the rule in Trinidad. In Grenada the annual rainfall is 

 about 120 inches. Thanks to this circumstance, the chief cause dis- 

 appears which leads the planters ot Trinidad to shade their plantations, 

 namely, the fear of seeing them perish through drought. 



The absence of shade which the Grenada planters partially supply 

 by planting the trees very near one another, results in a different 

 method of working the estates. 



The cocoa trees yield a crop much sooner without shade, if the hu- 

 midity is sufficient, than with shade. In Grenada a very fair crop is 

 obtained in the fourth year from planting, and a full crop in the fifth 

 year ; while in Trinidad the trees only commence to yield a full crop 

 after the tenth year. 



It must be noted that trees not shaded become exhausted much 

 more rapidly than the oihers, above all when they are planted close; 

 a distance of 9 by 9 feet is not rare in Grenada. If it is desired to 

 preserve as long as possible the fertility of the trees, it is necessary to 

 manure and cultivate the soil, and this is done to the greatest extent 

 in Grenada, where manuring and tillage play a very important part. 

 This fact constitutes a great difference between the methods of culture 

 of Trinidad and Grenada. 



The tilling is done by means of a four-pronged fork. No particular 

 care is taken to avoid destroying sometimes a root that comes to the 

 surface, but when this happens great trouble is taken to cut off the 

 torn ends clean in order to prevent decay. The results obtained are con- 

 siderable and far surpass those of the Trinidad plantations. In Gre- 

 nada they cultivate very intensively, and the soil is completely ex- 

 hausted at the end of a short time. The methods of culture in Trinidad 

 is on the contrary more extensive, and they do not manure much. If 

 manuring was given up in Grenada, the plantations would certainly 



