44 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



The cacao tree has been improved and " domesti- 

 cated " to satisfy human requirements, a proces's which 

 has rendered it weaker to resist attacks from pests and 

 parasites. It is usual to classify man amongst the pests, 

 as either from ignorance or by careless handling he 

 can do the tree much harm. Other animal pests are the 

 wanton thieves : monkeys, squirrels and rats, who 

 destroy more fruit than they consume. The insect 

 pests include varieties of beetles, thrips, aphides, scale 

 insects and ants, whilst fungi are the cause of the 

 "Canker" in the stem and branches, the " Witch - 

 broom " disease in twigs and leaves, and the " Black 

 Rot " of pods. 



The subject is too immense to be summarised in a 

 few lines, and I recommend readers who wish to know 

 more of this or other division of the science of cacao 

 cultivation, to consult one or more of the four classics 

 injEnglish on this subject : 



Cocoa, by Herbert Wright (Ceylon), 1907. 

 Cacao, by J. Hinchley Hart (Trinidad), 191 1. 

 Cocoa by W. H. Johnson (Nigeria), 191 2. 

 Cocoa, by C. J. J. van Hall (Java), 1914. 



