256 



shade for the first two or three years after planting. Too dense 

 shade, however, is not beneficial to it and plants set out in the 

 forest make very slow progress and develop into spindly trees." 

 (Capt. M. Short, in West Indian Bull., 1905, p. 139.) 



"The Caslilloa is a fast growing tree. It appears to grow 

 faster between the ages of two and four. The leaf surface of the 

 tree, and consequently the amount of light it gets, has a great deal 

 to do with its growth. Shade grown trees are not nearly so large 

 at the same age as those grown in the sun. Some planters 

 believe that trees grown in at least partial shade yield more latex, 

 but if this is so, I do not believe that they yield enough more to 

 pay for the loss in growth, for under any ordinary conditions the 

 trees yield in proportion to their size. Monthly measurements of a 

 large number of Q75//7/ort trees show that they grow on an average 

 of about I inch per month in circumference. This varies, however, 

 the trees sometimes growing not at all for a month and growing 

 J inch or more the next month. An experiment in the effect of 

 tapping on growth did not show that it made any difference." — 

 (" A Forester in the " India Rubber World.") 



AS A SHADE TREE FOR COCOA. 



" I find that cocoa bears well under the shade of Castilloa. Nine 

 years ago I planted an acre of rubber and cocoa together — the 

 rubber at 24 feet apart, and the cocoa at 12 feet — and so far as I 

 have noticed there is very little, if any, difference in the bearing 

 of these cocoa trees and those under the shade of Bois Immortd. 

 On finding this I planted last year fifteen acres in the same 

 manner, and tliere is every reason to expect that in another eight, 

 or nine years they will give a gross return of about £50 per 

 acre. Coffee also bears well under Castilloa." — (Capt. Short, in 

 " Tropical Agriciillurisi," Aug. 28, 1900.) 



As bearing on this phase of the subject, the following extracts 

 from an article by Mons. P. Cibot, in Vilbouchevitch's Journal 

 d' Agriculture Tropicalc, descriptive of cocoa cultivation in Venezuela 

 are likely to be of interest : — 



"I have recently had the opportunity in Venezuela of visiting 

 one of the principal plantations which produce that cocoa, so 

 justly 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 the 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. cocoa in 1903-4. 



"Going over General Fonseca'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 1895-6 about 8,000 plants were put out in places where 

 shade was wanted for the cocoa 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. 



