242 TEINIDAD. 



cacao soon gained a reputation on account of its delicious aroma. 

 According to Gumilla, it was superior to that of Caracas and 

 other places, so much so, that the crops were bought and paid 

 for beforehand. In the year 1727, however, a terrible epidemic 

 spread in the cacao plantations. The trees were apparently 

 healthy and vigorous; the flowering abundant, giving fruits; 

 but none of them came to maturity, as the young pods dried up 

 before full growth. Cacao being the only article of export, the 

 commerce of the colony was crippled at once, complete and 

 irretrievable ruin soon following. The ruined and starving 

 colonists were compelled to seek refuge on the neighbouring 

 continent, taking with them their slaves, plate, and jewellery ; 

 the population was reduced, exclusive of the Indians, to the 

 scanty number of 162 adults ; the public revenue fell to the 

 derisory sum of 231 francs. Thirty years later, some Aragonese 

 Capuchin fathers were successful in their attempt to revive the 

 culture of the cacao in the island. They imported from the 

 continent a new species, the Cacao forastero, which, though 

 giving a produce of inferior quality, was, nevertheless, promptly 

 propagated as being hardier ; that is the cacao at present culti- 

 vated in the island. 



Here, as in Venezuela, growers admit two distinct species or 

 varieties; they are the Creole cacao [Cacao criollo), and the 

 foreign cacao [Cacao forastero). Whether distinct species or 

 mere varieties, they have distinct characteristics. The former 

 produces the best specimens, and is extensively cultivated in the 

 province of Caracas. It is somewhat more delicate than the 

 Forastero, requires the best soil, and does not bear so abundantly. 

 It is otherwise pretty healthy and fruitful ; the pod is in shape 

 roundish, the shell thinner, the beans plumper and larger, from 

 twenty-five to thirty in number in each pod ; the mucilaginous 

 covering of the seeds less abundant, so much so, that two days 

 sweating will suffice to deprive it of such, whilst two days, or 

 two days and a half exposure to the sun will dry the beans ; 

 kernels of a cinnamon tint, light. 



Cacao Forastero. — The tree is hardier, more robust, and 

 yields more abundantly ; the pod is elongated, the beans smaller 

 and flattened, of a darker colour inside, exhibiting a somewhat 

 astringent taste, whilst that of the Criollo is soft. 



There evidently exist several species of Theobromas. Martius, 



