45 



CHAPTER III 



HARVESTING AND PREPARATION FOR THE 



MARKET 



The picking, gathering, and breaking of the cacao are 

 the easiest jobs on the plantation. 



" How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate' 1 



Gathering and Heaping. 



IN the last chapter I gave a brief account of the cul- 

 tivation of cacao. I did not deal with forking, spray- 

 ing, cutlassing, weeding, and so forth, as it would 



lead us too far into 

 purely technical 

 discussions. I pro- 

 pose we assume 

 that the planter has 

 managed his estate 

 well, and that the 

 plantation is before 

 us looking very 

 healthy and full of 

 fruit waiting to be 

 picked. The ques- 

 tion arises : How 

 shall we gather it ? 

 Shall we shake the tree ? Cacao pods do not fall 

 off the tree even when over-ripe. Shall we knock off 

 or pluck the pods ? To do so would make a scar on the 

 trunk of the tree, and these wounds are dangerous in 

 tropical climates, as they are often attacked by canker. 

 A sharp machete or cutlass is used to cut off the pods 

 which grow on the lower part of the trunk. As the tree 

 fs not often strong enough to bear a man, climbing is 



