I 



I'^ 



/ 



c^o 



^ 



-■I 



OR 



V 



^ 



^ 



m-n 



^^ 





-T/^^ Cacao Tree. 



HE trunks of thefe trees are rfbout eigtit 

 inches thick, and twelve feet in height^ 

 with a fliining fmooth bark. The leaves 

 grow alternately ; are broad and point- 

 ed, fet on flat pedicles near an inch long: 

 The flowers put forth only from the 

 trunk and larger branches, in cluflers of 

 about eight tir ten j each flower confiding 

 ''of five 'ca'pfular leaves, and Ave petals, with ftamina and a 



5From one of thefe little tufts of bloffoms ufuaily 

 Succeeds a fmgle^'fruit about the bignefs of a Swan's e^rg, 

 but longer, more tapering, and ending in a point. The fruit 

 liangs pendant, and, when ripe, has a fliell of a p'urple colour, 

 Sn fubflance fomewhat like that of a pomegranate, and furrow- 



Le C A c A o. 



■4 



m^' 



^'^^. 



forte d' Arhre a p 



hint ponces de dtametre, & douze pies de hau^ 



tcur, avec ime ecorce lijje & luijajite. Les 



femlles croijjent cltei'-nativement^ font larges^ & 



^^^^ f^if^^^^ ^^ p^inte fur des pedicules phitSy & 



longs d'un police. 



fieiirs ne par tent 

 oJJ'es branches^ en peh 



d' environ hiiit on dix -, & chactme d'elles con^ 



ililus. 



fifte en cinq jeiiilles capjulaires^ & cinq p 



pi/i 



petites toiiffes deJJetirs Co 



ment iin feul fruity de la grojjeur Oiviron d'un ceuf 

 phis long^ plus conique^ & finiffant en point e 



fruit refte p. 



'>Jl rniir^ ilaune ecorce de couleur dep 



fuhjl-ance a pen pres pareille 



ied from end to end ; containing in the middle many kernels of filhnneedmi 'bout h t autre, & contenant pluf 



the fi2c of acorns, inclcfcd in a mucilaginous fubftance, and 

 which are known amongft us by the' name of Cacao Nuts^ of 

 which is made chocolate. 



What remains fufficient to be faid of this excellent tree, is the 

 following ihort tranfcript from an author of great obfcrvatioti, 



P 



61. 



Damp 



J. 



]s a 



tc 



'<c 



foot 



*' A Cac^o-tree (fays he) at its full growth 



and all half thick, and feven or eight feet to the branches. 



A well bearing tree ordinarily has about twenty or thirty 



^' cods upon it; two crops of them are produced in a year. 



one in December, biat the beft 



cc 



J^ 



They neither 



vc 



a 



npcn nor are gathered at once; but for three weeks or 

 •^ a month, when the feafon is, the Overfeers of the Plan- 

 "^ tatjons go every day about to fee which are turned yel^ 

 ^"^ low, editing at once, it may be, not above one from 



tree-. The cods, thus gathered, they lay in heaps to 

 *^ fweatj and then, burfting the fhells with their hands, 

 they pull out the nuts. There are generally near an 

 hundred nuts in a cod. When taken out they dry them 

 in the fun upon mats fpread on the ground 5 after which 

 they need nb more care, having a thin hard Ikin of their 

 ownj and much oil, which preferves them. Salt-water 

 wiU not hurt them; for we had our bags rotted, lying 

 in the bottom of our Ihip, and yet the nuts never 'the 



KC 



cc 



cc 



cc 



cc 





cc 



in the pla- 



m 



fou 



r or 



*' worfe. The trees are raifed from nuts fet 

 " ces where they are to bear, which they co 

 *' five years, without tranfplanting. They flielter the trees 

 v/hile young from the fun and winds, with plantains fet 

 about them, which are dt/lroyed by fuch time that the 

 *' Cacao-trees are of a pretty good body, and able to en- 

 dure the fcorching heat of the fun. 



<c 



cc 



cc 



J) 



The Cacao-tree is a native 



America, and 



grows \\\ 



-\ 



no other part of the world. The places of its grov.'th are 

 in the Bay of Ca'mpcachy, on Cojla Rica between Rortabcl 

 and Nicaragua, the coa/l of Caraccos, Gumaquil, and 



CI 



"Jamaica^ In the year 1)^14, I faw the remains of 



Q)Uti 



it muft 



.extenfive Cacao- walks, planted by the S>p 

 poiTcffion of that Ifland ; a fufficient inducement, 

 be thought, for their fucccfTors to continue the fame gain- 

 ful agriculture; when the profits, as well as the culture 

 of the plant, was, and is ftill, as well known to us as to 

 the Spaniards themfelvee-, Whatever infatuation 



Jta of it, ^ 

 that the balance of trade, in this 



to pofTcfs our countrymen in 



the nep 



continues 

 tis certain 



againfl us; the Sp. 



f ^ 



branch, is confiderably 

 of late_the^ i^/Tw-6, fupply- 

 .ing not only us, and our northern Coloincs, but all £//r^/;^ 

 with this valuable commodity; I cannot but think it de- 

 ferves the confideration of the legiflaturc: for, we: e 

 thod found to encourage its cultivation, our Sugar Ifiands 

 ^(being as well adapted to the growth of it as any part of 

 ■America) might not only fupply our home-confumption, but 



^come in for a iliare of exportation to foreign m-arkets. 



a me- 



'^jfeur dhin gland, renfermees dans une fubliaitce tnucilagineufe 



par mi noiis Jous'le mm de noix de Cacao, dont en Jai. 



le chocolat. 



'fte a dire de plus ejfentiel fur cef excellent Arbre, fe 

 ' ^^ paffagefmvant d'un aiiteur de grande obfervation^ 



fc 



eft 



fes Voyages, p. 61. de la 3. Ed. Fr. 

 DArbre, dit-il, qui produit le Cacao, a un pie & demi de 



offeiir tout an plus, & fept oil huit p 



ifqu 



J 



produit Inen, porte d' ordinaire e) 

 oufjes : on en J ait deux recoltes pi 

 re, & rautrCy qui efl la meillem 



^fjent pas toutes a la / 



n He pas au/Ji toutes en meme terns : durant troisfe 



fois quune feule 



nfpeSleur. 

 jauniffe? 



Ap 



ainft cueilli les goujfes, on en fait divers monceaux pour lesf. 

 flier : e72juite on cajfe Fenveloppe avec la main, & on en tin 



7701 X. 



pr^s de cent noix dans tine gouffe 



Apres quon a tire tes noix, on les fait Jecher au fokilj. 



fotns a prejidre, p. 



J' 



^fe 



& 



/ 



poiM ; car nous en avions a fond de cale dans des facsp 

 qui nen furent pas moins bonnes pour cela. On eie\ 



petits arbres a Cacao p. 



idroits ou ilsdoivent produire, ce quihf^ 

 fans qiion prenne la peine de les t raff pi 



qiion plante dans 



du J\ 



ks entoure de 

 font d'line grcf* 



J 



feur railomuible, & en etat de refijkr mix ardL 

 Du rejle rarkrsdu Cacao eft um plante de /'Ai 

 croit en aiuun autre endrok du )?ionde. Les lieux cu U vieni avec 

 le plus de fucces font la Eaye de Campeche, fur la Cote Riche, 

 entre Tortabel Gf Nicaragua, la cote de Caraccos, de Guaiaquil, 

 & de Colima.'' 



Me trouvant, a /^ Jamaique, en 1714, /y vis des rcfles de 

 grandes a/le'es de Cacao, plantees par les Efpagnols, dans le temps 

 Qui Is eloic7it en popjjion de cette ik : motif fu£if ant, ce me femble, 

 <i leurs fuccefjeurs pour la continuation d'une agriculture fi profita- 

 ble ; puifque nous en connoifjons la maniere, & les avantages, aufji 

 bten aue les Efpagnols mcmes : car enf.n queile quepuife ctre V infa- 



de tm ge?u a sobfiner a la negliger, il ejl certain que la 

 lance du commerce, par rapport a cette branche particulicre, ejl 

 xftderablement contre nous. Les Efpagnols, & depuis peu les Fran- 



tuation 



fournijfant cette 7narcha?jdije eh 



h 



r a nos colomes du JSord, mais aujji a toute /'Europe, il ft 

 • me femhle^ cipropos que notrs Gouvernement prit des \nefw 

 [jjus ; car / on trouvoit un may en d'encourager cette efpec 

 i'dure, nos zles a fucre, qui y font auft propres quaucune c 

 partie^ de /'Amerique, pourrcient, avec le terns, non feulement 



joitrnir afjc 



nfporter dans les pays 



nfmnmation^ mais meme pQ. 



A -' 



