January i8, 191 2] 



NATURE 



375 



acteristic stories and proverbs concerning the birds 

 (in one or two instances these are rendered in broken 

 English, which is scarcely necessary, since they are 

 not likely to have been given to the authors in 

 that form). The nesting habits of the birds, the 

 appearance of the nestlings and of the eggs, the times 

 of the breeding season, are supplied, and here one 

 gets a good deal of new information based on careful 

 observation. Even on the subject of the Egyptian 

 geese the remarks contain novel information, as, for 

 example, those describing their habits as tree-perchers. 

 I'nlike the real geese (which, of course, they are not), 

 they would seem to pass the night, not on the water, 

 but perched on trees. Yet the nests are not con- 

 structed in trees, as is the case with some allied 

 forms, but in shallow depressions of the ground, and 

 after incubation the j'oung at once resort to the 

 water and apparently do not take to the trees until 

 they are able to fly. 



The African chat (Myrmecocichla nigra) is well de- 

 scribed as a merry-looking bird, and his courting atti- 

 tude is set forth in words exactly corresponding to the 

 picture drawn by me in my own work on the Uganda 

 Protectorate The authors rightly compare the song 

 of the male chat to that of the blackbird. "After 

 feeding the young he would often perch on an ant- 

 hill near by and burst into song as if in pure joy and 

 pride in a lusty family." These chats are certainly 

 the most lovable birds the traveller can meet with 

 throughout East Africa and Uganda. They are very 

 tame, and have a fancy for frequenting native villages 

 or European encampments. Another creature that is 

 well illustrated by photograph and description is the 

 beautiful paradise fly-catcher (Tchitrea viridis). 



H. H, JOHNSTOK. 



CACAO-PLANTING. 



Cacao : a Manual on the Cultivation and Curing of 

 Cacao. By J. H. Hart. Pp. x + 307. (London: 

 Duckworth and Co., igii.) Price 7^. 6d. net. 

 T T is a curious fact that in spite of the enormous 

 ■*- political and financial interests possessed by the 

 United Kingdom in tropical countries, and therefore 

 in tropical crops and products, the technical literature 

 on these subjects should be almost entirely exotic. 

 There is, for example, nothing in English to compare 

 I . with such works as those of Semler and Wiesner in 

 wL German, or with the several series of handbooks on 

 " tropical crops published in France. 



This state of things is no doubt due to the fact 

 I hat serious, organised instruction in tropical agricul- 

 ture scarcely exists within the British Empire, though 

 it has been found expedient to undertake such work 

 in Holland, Germany, and France, countries the 

 ■: tropical possessions of which are far less important 

 I than ours. There are signs, however, of an increased 

 I interest being taken in tropical agriculture in this 

 1; country, and one of them is the occasional publication 

 if a book of the kind now under review. 



.A sad interest attaches to this book, since though 



he author was able to see it through the press, Y"- 



lied before it was published. .Mr. Hart was well 



lualified to write on cacao. During his long career 



NO, 2203, VOL. 88] 



in the tropics, he spent no fewer than eighteen years 

 in Trinidad as superintendent of the Botanical De- 

 partment, and in that capacity was continuously 

 engaged in dealing with the problems that confront 

 cacao planters. He writes therefore with a full know- 

 ledge of the needs of planters, and consequently his 

 book is thoroughly practical from a planter's point 

 of view. At the same time^ he recognises the pro- 

 visional character of many of the deductions drawn 

 from past experience, and lays due stress on the 

 necessity for further investigation, and makes many 

 valuable suggestions as to the direction this should 

 take. 



Naturally the book is concerned very largely with 

 cacao cultivation and curing as practised in Trinidad, 

 but since that colony produced in 1910 nearly one- 

 seventh of the world's supply of cacao, and this 

 mostly of high grade, this is not a great disadvan- 

 tage, since Trinidad practice may well be followed 

 by planters elsewhere. 



So far, practically no attempt has been made in 

 cacao-growing countries to keep different varieties 

 of the cacao-tree separate, and as a result most 

 plantations contain many varieties, and yield a mixed 

 product. In forming new plantations, it is desirable 

 that this state of things should be avoided, and for 

 this purpose Mr. Hart recommends, in preference to 

 the sowing of selected seed, the grafting of good but 

 delicate kinds of cacao on hardy "stocks." The work 

 already done in the West Indies seems to indicate 

 that this is practicable on the large scale. 



Another equally important problem is that of the 

 curing of cacao by fermentation. Trinidad is for- 

 tunate in this respect, since although the plantations 

 contain a mixed population, the mixed produce ob- 

 tained is easily cured, and routine practices in curing 

 are followed, which give on the whole good results. 

 Mr. Hart is therefore perhaps inclined to attach too 

 little importance to this question. In British West 

 Africa it is not so simple. There the variety of cacao 

 grown is initially poor, and is difficult to cure 

 properly. Further, the native farmers are disinclined 

 to take trouble in the matter, with the result that 

 British West African cacao is of low grade and likely 

 to remain so for some time to come, in spite of the 

 strenuous efforts of the Gold Coast Department of 

 Agriculture to induce natives to improve their 

 methods. Much of the difficulty that surrounds the 

 production of better, native-grown cacao in West 

 African colonies may disappear if the investigations 

 recently carried out by Fickendey result in the appli- 

 cation on a large scale of simpler curing methods not 

 involving fermentation. 



The two series of problems to which allusion has 

 been made are of peculiar importance to the cacao- 

 grower, but in common with other tropical planters 

 he has to deal with fungoid diseases, insect pests, and 

 depredations by animals, and on these and other 

 equally imfxirtant matters Mr. Hart gives useful and 

 much-needed guidance. He rightly points out that 

 cleanliness in agricultural operations is one of the 

 best nir.in- of avoiding ili^ .1^. in ,1 plantation. 



Ilio book contains a number ol good illustrations 

 of pods of the chief varieties of cacao, of tools used 



