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PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE 



Enemies. Cacao has many enemies, both insects and 

 fungi. In the Philippines, a wood-boring insect, and 

 another which destroys the fruit, have been very destruc- 

 tive, and during the last 

 decade have made it im- 

 possible to raise cacao 

 with profit in many 

 places. 



Crop. While a good 

 crop should be ob- 

 tained when the trees 

 are five years old, it in- 

 creases until the trees 

 are twelve years old. 

 For many years, then, 

 the yield should be at 

 least 500 kilos a year 

 from each hektar. In 

 Cebu, the foremost prov- 

 ince in the Philippines 

 in the production of 

 cacao, the Census of 1903 showed the average yield to 

 be 390 kilos. A great advantage in the culture of cacao 

 is the small amount of labor required. On this account 

 it is about as profitable a crop as coffee, although the 

 coffee crop from an equal area of ground is much more 

 valuable. 



FIG. 113. Cacao tree in fruit in Venezuela 



