225 



many of our readers have not the opportunity of perusing this publi- 

 cation, it is reprinted here for circulation. 



It will be found that the discussion touched the Lmportanl points 

 of manuring, shade, treatment of disease, varieties, methods of cul- 

 tivation, &c, &c, and elicited a variety of views from gentlemen who 

 attended from sister colonies, which deserve the fullest attention. 



EXPERIMENTS IN IMPROVING THE HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVENESS 01" COCOA TREES. 



Mr. J. H. Hart (Trinidad) : Our experiments have only just 

 been initiated and have hardly reached a stage to justify saying 

 anything about them. One or two things have, however, been 

 brought to the notice of planters, and have, I am glad to say, been 

 taken advantage of with considerable success. The first is the method 

 of dealing with the pod disease. The methods suggested by me to 

 the Trinidad Agricultural Society, and also by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, which consist in the burning, burying, and 

 disinfecting of diseased pods, have been especially successful in 

 dealing with the disease called Phytopthora, and I was agreeably 

 surprised to be told recently that, as the result of their adoption on 

 one of the largest estates in the island, proprietors expected to get 

 25 per cent, more cocoa than he otherwise would have done. 

 Mr. de Gannes has also adopted similar treatment with equal success. 

 Another thing which we have been trying to impress upon small 

 planters especially is the desirability of pruning cocoa trees so as not 

 to leave wounds which cause rot of the centre of the stem. Again, 

 where wounds and holes occur Ave strongly recommend a system ot 

 cleaning them and filling them with a mixture made of ordinary 

 cement and sand. This gives the trees renewed vigour and prolongs 

 their life for many years. Tar is also recommended for use when 

 pruning and I am glad to say the practice has been adopted on a large 

 number of estates. Few manurial experiments have as yet been 

 carried out, but those recommended are being adopted, and I shall be 

 able to report on them at a later period. 



Mr. J. G. de Gannes (Trinidad) : With few exceptions the cocoa 

 cultivation in this Island has received, up to a year or two ago. little 

 attention beyond the ordinary method of upkeep handed down by our 

 forefathers, but it seems now as though the cocoa planters are 

 realizing the necessity of higher cultivation. So far, artificial manures 

 have not been extensively made use of, but where they are being tried, 

 the results are encouraging. Basic slag is the manure most generally 

 applied. Some very good results are obtained by the use of pen 

 manure prepared with gypsum, and on some very old properties its 

 use, and that of sheep manure forked in, have been remarkable in 

 improving the health and productiveness of the cocoa trees. The 



