CH. IV] COFFEE, CACAO OR CHOCOLATE, KOLA, ETC. 71 



shade trees have hitherto been species of Erythrina, known in 

 the West Indies as Madre del Cacao, or Bois Immortelle, in 

 the East as dadap, but in recent years some variety is coming 

 in. The shade trees are usually planted at about 50 feet apart, 

 and the cacao under them at 12 or 15 feet apart. Some of the 

 West Indian Islands with little wind (on the leeward side) are 

 able to dispense with shade altogether. 



The tree is carefully started in nurseries, and planted out 

 at about six months old, the shade trees being at first closer 

 together and being gradually thinned out, providing much 

 nitrogen for the soil in this way. The suckers which appear on 

 the stem are pruned off, unless one is wanted to replace a stem 

 that may have been injured by disease or otherwise. 



The tree is apparently somewhat narrowly limited in range 

 of temperature that will suit its growth, for it only succeeds in 

 Ceylon at elevations from 200 to 2500 feet, and not very well 

 at either of these extremes. In more continental climates it is 

 grown at higher elevations, e.g. 3500 feet in Uganda, and it is 

 said even to 5000 or over in Ecuador. 



The tree begins to bear fruit in about its fourth year, and 

 the yield increases for some years. A fair average yield of dried 

 cacao " beans " is about 3 cwt. per acre per annum, but from 

 5 to 8 cwt. is not uncommon with Forastero kinds. 



The ripe fruits are picked by means of a tool not unlike 

 a reaping hook, it being important that they should be cleanly 

 severed from the stem, and they are then opened by means of 

 knives or otherwise and the mucilaginous seeds shaken out. 

 The treatment of these seeds differs slightly in different coun- 

 tries. In Ceylon they are piled in heaps and covered with sand 

 and plantain leaves, or placed in tubs or vats and similarly 

 covered, in order to ferment. The heaps are turned over at 

 intervals, and at the end of from 2 to 4 or even 10 days the 

 fermentation is complete 1 , when the seeds are taken out, and 

 the thin watery fermented mass of outer pulp is washed off by 

 rinsing in water. Fermentation also ensures the penetration of 

 water into .the interior of the seeds, causing them to swell out 

 and giving them a plump and " bold " appearance. 

 1 It takes least time with the best varieties. 



