4 o COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



shade, (3) partial shade, says that so far partial shade 

 has given the best results. No general solution has yet 

 been found to the question of the advantage of shade, 

 and, as Shaw states for morality, so in agriculture, " the 

 golden rule is that there is no golden rule." Not only 

 is there the personal factor, but nature provides an 

 infinite variety of environments, and the best results 

 are obtained by the use of methods appropriate to the 

 local conditions. 



Form of Tree-growth Desired : Suckers. 



Viscount Mountmorres, in a delightfullv clear ex- 

 position of cacao cultivation which he gave to the 

 native farmers and chiefs of the Gold Coast in 1906, 

 said : "In pruning, it is necessary always to bear in 

 mind that the best shape for cacao trees is that of an 

 enlarged open umbrella," with a height under the 

 umbrella not exceeding seven feet. With this ideal in 

 his mind, the planter should train up the tree in the 

 way it should go. Viscount Mountmorres also said 

 that everything that grows upwards, except the main 

 stem, must be cut off. 



This opens a question which is of great interest to 

 planters as to whether it is wise to allow shoots to grow 

 out from the main trunk near the ground. Some hold 

 that the high yield on their plantation is due to letting 

 these upright shoots grow. Mi Amigo Corsicano 

 said : ' Diavolo, let the cacao-trees grow, let them 

 branch off like any other fruit-tree, say the tamarind, 

 the ' chupon ' or sucker will in time bear more than its 

 mother.' "* There seems to be some evidence that old 

 trees profit from the "chupons" because they continue 

 to bear when the old trunk is weary, but this is com- 

 pensated for by the fact that the " chupons " (Portuguese 

 for suckers) were grown at the expense of the tree in 

 its youth. Hence other planters call them " thieves," 

 and " gormandizers," saying that they suck the sap 

 from the tree, turning all to wood. They follow the 



* "How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate." 



