52 THE GOLD COAST 



Another insect, which belongs to the same Order as 

 the last, and the genus Helopeltis, has been observed 

 puncturing the pods and causing them to become black- 

 spotted, distorted, and sometimes killed by the attack. 

 This is allied to H. Antonii, Sign., which punctures cocoa 

 pods in the same manner in Ceylon. The insect does not 

 appear to be numerous at present, but should be sought 

 on damaged pods and killed at every opportunity, as 

 some species of the same genus have developed into 

 the worst enemies of tea and cinchona in other parts 

 of the world. 



Fungoid parasites appear to be rare in the Gold Coast, 

 although they have been observed commonly in other 

 places in Africa. In some of the damper parts of Ashanti 

 a fungoid thread blight was observed on cocoa, and was 

 found to be common upon several forest shrubs in the 

 same places. This is perhaps Slilbum nanum, Massee ; 

 it should be treated by means of scraping with a wooden 

 knife combined with spraying with Bordeaux mixture. 



Harvesting and Preparing. The native cocoa grower 

 collects the pods from his trees at the time when he esti- 

 mates he can gather the most, and, in consequence, many 

 over-ripe and under-ripe fruits are taken with the ripe. 

 The effect of this is to give an irregular product which can 

 never possess the attributes of a good cocoa. The pods 

 \ are usually pulled off the tree, a knife being seldom used ; 

 and in the action of pulling off, the cushion, upon which 

 the pod is borne, is often torn and injured. As it is from 

 this point, or near it, that the successive crops of flowers 

 and fruits proceed, the bearing power of the tree is fre- 

 quently diminished in this way. The use of a knife and 

 the necessity for frequent pickings, to ensure the pods being 

 taken when mature, are among the most important lessons 

 which the native planter should be taught. The pods 

 after collection are thrown into a heap upon the ground, 

 and are often left without further attention for two or 

 three days, after which they are broken open with the aid 

 of a " cutlass," and the contents are scooped out into a 

 basket. The result is a mixture of beans, in their sur- 

 rounding pulp, in different stages of maturity. The 

 length of time that the beans remain in the basket is 

 generally only regulated by the convenience of the col- 

 lector. The next operation is to remove as much of the 



