the Cacao Piant. 265 
greatest care, as the slightest damage done to the roots in moving 
them is certain death to the plant. It is usual now, on my 
plantation, to plant the seeds in short lengths of bamboo stems, 
so that when the time comes for the removal of the young 
plants from the nurseries the bamboo-pots are taken up and 
transplanted, with the young plants in them, intact. This I have 
found a perfect safeguard against any damage to the young root. 
At the same time as the cacao-seeds are planted the small 
shade-plants have to be put in, in order to protect them for a 
few months, such as the cassava, castor-oil, red-pepper, &c. ; 
farther off are planted bananas and plantains, one between each 
cocoa plant—these will give requisite shade for two or three 
years; and lastly there come the permanent shade-trees at dis- 
tances, say, from thirty to forty feet, which at the end of three 
years will provide all the necessary shade. These permanent 
shade-trees are the ‘‘ Immortelle,’”’ or ‘“‘ Madre de Cacao” (Ery- 
thrina umbrosa). See first Plate. 
The leaves of the cacao tree, as you see, are large, smooth, 
glossy, thin, and of a bright green colour. They droop gracefully 
from the trees, and are about eight to twelve inches long (I have 
gathered them from my trees, grown in this country, even 
larger than this), and are about six to eight inches broad, with 
pointed ends. ao 
The tree bears fruits more or less all the year round, so that 
buds, flowers, and fruit are found in all stages at the same time 
on the same tree. The flowers have short stalks, and grow 
directly from the trunk and main branches, as you will see by the 
photos which I will pass round (see second and third Plates); but 
not from the young formed wood nor intermixed with the foliage. 
The flowers usually grow in bunches, and are very small con- 
sidering the size of the tree. The flowers are a creamy white 
colour, somewhat resembling the flower of the lime ( Tilia europea). 
The fruit or pod resembles a short thick cucumber (see fourth 
Plate), containing from twenty to forty seeds enclosed in a white 
mucilaginous pulp. A fine quality vinegar can be made from 
this pulp. The pods during their growth assume most beautiful 
colours, varying in shade from a rich golden yellow to pink. 
The chief or main crops are two in each year, namely, June and 
December. 
The pods are gathered by means of a cocoa-hook (see fifth Plate) ; 
this instrument is made of a shape to be used either by a push, 
a pull, or by a side cut, and when kept well sharp and affixed to 
a light bamboo-rod serves admirably for collecting the pods from 
the higher branches of the trees. Care must be used in order 
_ that the “cushion,” or point where the cocoa-pod is borne, is not 
damaged, as the tree presents a succession of flowers and fruit 
at or near the same point each season. Only skilled hands can 
