358 



CHOCOLATE. 



rs<xoli*. but the mott coaimtn i to cut down the wood, all >w it 

 to dry very thoroughly, and then to bum it. The plan- 

 tation it then drained; and (mall trenches are cut, so at 

 to carry off all superabundant nui.t.irv. Tin- cacao 

 plant* are then arranged either in straight lino., to a to 

 nuke a crott, fortneo by the junction of the apices of 

 two triangle*, or in that of a square. The distance of 

 the tree* from each other should be fifteen or sixteen 

 French feet in good soil, and about twelve or thirteen in 

 that which it inferior. 



It it peculiarly necessary to defend this tree from the 

 torching rays of the sun, and at the same time sufficient 

 warmth should be afforded to secure the vegetation. 

 Thtt it done by planting it with the plantain tree and the 

 crytrina, which answer all the objects desired. The 

 whole plantation is guarded by the cassaoa plants. The 

 cacao plants which arc transplanted, should not exceed 

 three feet in height ; when they are larger they are less 

 manageable, and more apt to die. The nurseries of the 

 cacao require very fine land, well dressed, and free from 

 wet. They should be sheltered from the sun. Small 

 he.ips of earth are collected, into each of which two seeds 

 of the cacao are set. For the first twenty-four hours 

 the rows are covered with plantain leaves. The ground 

 ii watered, if necessary, but no water is allowed to re- 

 main on it. The period best suited to this operation, is. 

 in the month of November. 



The season, however, for planting the cacao nut, de- 

 pends upon the situation of the plantation; where there 

 is no abundance of water, the dry season ; when there is a 

 fcarcity, the rainy season. The former is the best, when 

 attainable, at the quantity of moisture can be easily regu- 

 lated. During the period of transplantation, the plants 

 must be kept perfectly dry. When the two seeds in 

 each heap have germinated, the weakest plant is destroy- 

 ed to give greater vigour to the remaining one. The 

 plantain trees should be carefully cut down when they 

 become old, lest in their fall they should injure the cacao 

 trees. 



Great care is bestowed in cutting off the superfluous 

 branches of the young trees, so as to give them the bene- 

 fit of the whole of the circulating fluids. All young 

 shoots from the root are destroyed. 



After the cacao walk is completed, great attention is 

 necessary to keep it in order. The trees must be freed 

 from the cryptogamous plants that grow on them, the 

 earth worms must be destroyed, the walks must be 

 cleared from all weeds, the trenches for drainage must be 

 constantly deepened, so that after the roots have sunk 

 five or six feet into the soil, the moisture maybe equally 

 diffused, for when there it too much the root decays. 

 This precaution not only ensures the health of the trees, 

 but also a larger crop. The branches should not be too 

 often lopped, as when this is done the tree frequently 

 diet. 



The nut withers upon the tree from several causes, 

 which frequently cannot be obviated. But we cannot 

 enter so minutely into this subject as we wish, from the 

 nature of our work. 



There are two principal crops of cacao in the year, 

 St John's da 



the first about 

 rod of December. 



day, and the second about the 



Frequently the crop fails ; and gener 

 ally a considerable quantity of the nut is found to be de- 

 cayed. Great benefit is said to be derived from gather- 

 ing the fruit when the moon is waning, yet some intelli- 

 gent people ridicule this opinion, at a mere prejudice, and 

 impracticable to any extent, without a certain lost by 

 the decay of a large portion of the fruit. 

 The people employed in gathering, carrying, and c- 



pirating the external cat of the eataa nut, are St'. 

 with care ; i\\~ grhcrert are composed of those whose 

 ii good, so that no unripe fruit shall be pulled ; I!K- 

 st and most active arc the carriers ; and the old in- 

 firm slaves open the shell and take off the husk. Thsse 

 two last operations are performed by two classes of t he- 

 feeble old people. 



Good cacao should be separated from that which is 

 either indifferent or bad. In general there are four 

 kinds of cacao in each crop : the ripe, the green, the 

 perfectly formed, that which is worm eaten, and the rot- 

 ten. Whenever the first of these (the ripe) begins to 

 ferment, it should be separated. The unripe nuts should 

 be covered with the leaves of the plantain for three 

 in order that they may ripen thoroughly. All the nut. 

 are then stored ; and it is indispensably necessary, that no 

 leaves or pieces of the shell, or any other refuse, should 

 be left in the store-house. And this is to be attended 

 whenever the store (viuse is cleaned out. 



But previous to this storing of the cacao, it must be 

 very completely dried in the sun, as moisture is highly 

 prejudicial to its being kept good. The best criteria of 

 its being dry, are its not crackling when broken, and not 

 heating when collected into heaps. When imperfectly 

 dried, the nuts become mouldy ; and on the other hand 

 too much drying renders it liable to decay. 



When the crop is considerable, a hundred quintals of 

 cacao may be put out to dry in the sun at once, ir 

 less the plantation has a sufficient number of hands to 

 convey a larger quantity. Should the season be rainy, 

 the cacao ought to be dried in large, well ventilated, and 

 covered galleries, with which every plantation should be 

 furnished. Mr Depons suggests that stoves might be- 

 advantageously introduced, although they are as yet un- 

 known in the colonies. 



The storehouses, in which the cacao is kept, ought to 

 be floored and wainscoated, and a small chaffing dish, 

 covered with a funnel, the pipe of which enters the heap 

 of the produce, and diffuses the smoke throughout it. 

 Some put bottles of vinegar, slightly covered, in the 

 houses, as a preservative against worms. 



The nuts which are slightly tainted, may be preserved 

 from entire decay, by a slight sprinkling of brine, which 

 might be used as a preservative. Thus both salt and 

 smoke are found useful ; yet, singular to say, they are- 

 only resorted to after the destruction has been partial. 



One slave is equal to the management of a thousand 

 cacoa trees, each of which yields one Ib. in middling 

 soil, and one and a half in the best. The mean in the Ca- 

 raccas, according to Depons, is about 20 ounces per 

 tree. So that the produce of 1000 trees will be 1'250'- 

 lb. of cacao, which, even at a moderate rate, i> a 

 very handsome return for the work of each labourer. 

 The expences of cultivation and necessary machinery is 

 very trifling ; the various accidents to which this ki.<d 

 of produce is liable, are the only drawbacks that lessen 

 the number of its cultivators. 



The cacao tree is not in full vigour until the seventh 

 or eighth year, (according to the situation ot the planta- 

 tion,) though, in some remarkable spots, it attan 

 fection in four years. It retains its vigour for 50 yirs. 



The cacao tree is obnoxious to several ili e.t -<., the 

 most common of which are induced by the injun 

 flicted on it by several kmd of worms, of which we sli.ill 

 give Depons' account, and by parasitic plants. 

 first of the:-c caterpillars is small, of an ash jrrry ci Innr, 

 which, on bcii g squeezed, emits a noise like the hibaing- 

 ofcold water on red-hot iron. It has iwo small norm 

 on itt head. It it to tenacious of life, that its head re- 



