257 



" At about four or five years the Castilloas easily out-grow the 

 .cocoa trees and commence to give them a little shade. As they 

 plant up Castilloas on the property, they kill out the "Bucares" 

 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 remarkable as it shows that 

 the Castilloa can be grown among cocoa without in any way harm- 

 ing 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 Tropical Agriculturist for February, 1905, (p. 529) the 

 following extract is published from a letter from a planter at 

 Matabele, Ceylon, in which he sums up his experience in regard 

 to Castilloa and cocoa as follows : — 



"I have very large Castilloas growing both along roads and 

 also scattered through cocoa, the latter of about fourteen years' 

 growth showing no evidence of prejudicial influence from the 

 Cas):illoas. My clearing of some 30 acres of Castilloas and cocoa 

 planted together six years ago so far supports the contention that 

 these two products may be grown together." 



Captain Short says : — There is little doubt that the return per 

 acre would be greater from a plantation of cocoa and Castilloa 

 than from cocoa shaded by Bois Immortel. 



" On Richmond estate there is an acre of cocoa twelve and a 

 half years old, planted 12 feet by 12 feet, shaded by Castilloas 

 and Bois Immortel. The rubbers are at 24 feet by 24 feet. The 

 Immortels are being gradually killed, many of them being already 

 dead. 



The cocoa crop for 1903-4 from this field was 3 bags. This 

 would give a return per acre of from £22 lOs. to £25 3s. thus : — 

 3 bags cocoa (ft' £4 ••• £12 



75 rubber trees f lb. each @ 3/6 per lb. 10 



£22 



"If the average yield were i lb. per tree, this would give a 

 return of £25 3s. per acre. 



"The return from other cocoa fields of the same age, planted on 

 similar soil and shaded by Bois Immortel was 3i to 4^ bags per 

 acre. Taking the average of 4 bags this gives £16 per acre, so 

 that deducting the cost of the rubber extraction, the return from 

 the cocoa and rubber would be from £4 to £6 more. 



"By applying some nitrogenous manure to supply the deficiency 

 in the soil arising from the absence of the Bois Immortel tree, 

 this figure would doubtless be increased. It is also probable that 

 the rubber could oe planted closer than 24 feet. 



DISTANCE IN PLANTING. 

 The proper distance in planting depends a good deal on how 



