136 

 649. COCOA PLANTING IN SAMOA. 



The introduction of the cocoa-growing industry into Samoa dates 

 from 1883, when 1(><) trees were procured from Ceylon, and were 

 followed in 1881 by 383 trees obtained from Java. The industry has 

 not yet attained any great magnitude, but there are great expectations 

 of its ultimate success, and much attention is being paid to it. In 

 1899 the area under cocoa was estimated at 300 acres, planted by 

 foreign residents, and an unknown area on native lands. The Apia 

 Customs Returns show 4<H)/. worth of cocoa exported in L901 and 6252. 

 worth in 1902. 



In 1903 Prof. F. Wohltmann visited Samoa on behalf of the 

 German Colonial Economic Committee and of the German Trading 

 and Planting Company of the South Sea Islands to investigate the 

 condition of the cocoa planting there., and of other cultivations suited 

 to the Samoan Islands. An account of his visit and recommendations 

 is published as a Supplement to the January number of the " Tropenp- 

 flanzer" for 1904, and from it the following points which may be ot 

 interest to planters in British Colonies are summarised. 



The Samoan Islands, of which the two largest. Upolu and Savaii. 

 belong to Germany, lie only 14° south of the equator, and possess a 

 tropical but very equable climate. The usual range of temperature is 

 from 68° to 88° F.. but extremes of 66° to 94° F. have been recorded. 

 Violent winds and thunder-storms are not of frequent occurrence, but 

 severe hurricanes sometimes sweep over the islands, though only in 

 every seven to nine years. The dampness of the air is not so great as 

 would be expected in tropical islands, but it is high enough to meet 

 the requirements of all moisture-loving tropical plants. In the rainy 

 season, which lasts from November to March, the air is usually almost 

 saturated with water vapour. In the dry season, lasting from April 

 to the end of October, the hygrometer shows in the morning and 

 evening about 90 per cent, and over of complete saturation, but at 

 '1 p.m. about (55 to 75 per cent, is observed : this circumstance is very 

 favourable for the drying of cocoa and of copra. 



As regards rainfall, the record kept at Apia extends from 1890 

 onwards, and as evidence of prior conditions it is noted that only once 

 since 1857 has the food supply fallen short and occasioned a famine. 

 The mean annual rainfall for the 13 years. L890 to L902, is 115 in., 

 and the extremes in that period are a minimum of 89 in. and a maxi- 

 mum of 16o in. As far as quantity is concerned, this minimum fall 

 is sufficient for cocoa and plants needing much water, but on the 

 Samoan coast the rain is not well distributed in the course of the year. 

 and there are years when periods of drought last too long, and are too 

 intense to suit the needs of the cocoa plant. If for two or three months 

 in succession the fall is only 0*8 in. per month, the yield is very 

 seriously threatened : for this reason suitable localities at higher alti- 

 tudes should be sought when selecting land for cocoa planting, as the 

 rainfall is heavier in such situations. It must be remembered, how- 

 ever, that at higher altitudes the coast variety of cocoa may not grow 

 so well, and that above L,600 ft. the plant is likely to fall a victim to 

 parasitic growths and other vegetable enemies. 



As the land in Samoa is very variable in its nature, before pur- 

 chasing a plot, it should be thoroughly tested by digging numerous 

 holes to examine the soil and subsoil. The cocoa tree is deep-rooted 



