34 



COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



(i) direct from seeds, or (2) from seedlings plants 

 raised in nurseries in bamboo pots, or (3) by grafting 

 or budding. It is usual to plant two or three seeds in 

 each hole, and destroy the weaker plants when about a 

 foot high. The seeds are planted from twelve to fifteen 

 feet apart. The distance chosen depends chiefly on the 

 richness of the soil ; the richer the soil, the more ample 



Planting Cacao, Trinidad, from Young 

 Seedlings in Bamboo Pots. 



room is allowed for the trees to spread without choking 

 each other. Interesting results have been obtained by 

 Hart and others by grafting the fine but tender criollo 

 on to the hardy forastero, but until yesterday the prac- 

 tice had not been tried on a large scale. Experiments 

 were begun in 191 3 by Mr. W. G. Freeman in Trinidad 

 which promise interesting results. By 1919 the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture had seven acres in grafted and 

 budded cacao. In a few years it should be possible to 



