366 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



and avoiding run-off, so that the general effect of cacao plantations 

 on water-supplies must be considerable. This question has been 

 discussed by Sir F. A. Stockdale (1935) in a valuable paper on the 

 relationship between agriculture and forestry. He has also des- 

 cribed the methods of cultivation of cacao in the Gold Coast 



(^936). 



It seems that all West African cacao is of much the same quality. 

 Compared with those of Trinidad, the trees produce a higher yield, 

 but have a much shorter life of twenty to twenty- five years instead 

 of eighty to one hundred years, so that rejuvenation of the farms 

 is necessary at regular intervals. Breeding and selection has been 

 carried on in Nigeria since 1930, but few results are yet available, 

 partly owing to the long life-cycle of the plant and partly owing to 

 losses of young plants during the dry months of February and 

 March. Selection has not yet been started in the Gold Coast, where 

 also it appears that research facilities are not adequate to deal with 

 the problems of rejuvenation. For these reasons, Stockdale advo- 

 cates the establishment of a central cacao experimental station to 

 deal with improved methods of cultivation as well as the produc- 

 tion of high-yielding strains. Collaboration with workers in Trini- 

 dad and Nigeria is essential. 



For the collection of statistics the department of agriculture in 

 the Gold Coast has a special branch, and since 1927 all data have 

 been kept and indexed. Study of these records has disproved the 

 suggestion that the Gold Coast cacao crop was decreasing in size. 

 The inspection of prepared cacao is another important activity 

 of the department. Stockdale (1936) has recommended that the 

 grading of cocoa, in addition to its inspection, should be taken over 

 entirely by government in order to make the produce more equal 

 in quality. 



FRUITS 



Bananas and plantains provide a staple food of natives in several 

 parts of the continent, notably in the region of the great lakes. In 

 Uganda twenty-four varieties of plantain are grown for experi- 

 mental purposes at Bukalasa, and American types have been intro- 

 duced (Thomas and Scott 1935). The weevil-borer {Cosmopolites 

 sordidus) has proved troublesome and has been studied by the 



