INTRODUCTION 125 



their seasons, but is rendered irregular by the difficulties of 

 storage. Efforts to establish the rubber industry in the island 

 were prejudiced at the critical period by the selection of Castilloa 

 as the tree to be grown, and there is only one considerable plan- 

 tation of Hevea. Several plantations of limes were made a 

 few years ago, but although the trees grow well the production of 

 fruit is seriousl}^ reduced by the prevalence of anthracnose. 



The most favourable cacao areas are among the hills of the 

 Central and Southern ranges and the valleys and lower slopes of 

 the Northern Range. Immortelle shade is every\\'here used, the 

 species known as " anauco " mainly in the hills and the " bocare " 

 on the plains. There is very little approach to intensive culti- 

 vation and the production per acre is consequently low. The 

 reasons assigned for this condition are the inadequacy of the 

 labour supply and lack of capital. The size of holdings ranges 

 all the way from two or three acres to several hundred. Most 

 estates have been built up by the combination of small holdings 

 or by extension on the " contract " system, in which the con- 

 tractor takes over a new area of small extent, clears and plants 

 it with cacao and temporary crops and hands it over as the 

 trees come into bearing. 



The areas occupied by sugar-cane lie immediately behind the 

 western coast : the northern district situated in the basin of the 

 Caroni River, the central about Couva, and the southern in the 

 undulating country south of San Fernando. About half the cane 

 is grown on estates grouped about local factories, of which there 

 are about half a dozen of notable size, and the other half by a 

 class of small cultivators known as cane tarmers who own or 

 rent land and sell their produce by weight to the factories. 



The cane is mainly planted in the second half of the wet 

 season (August to November) and the reaping season is from 

 early February to June. Ratooning is a general practice, but, as 

 elsewhere, the number of ratoon crops is undergoing continuous 

 reduction. It rarely now goes beyond three and is in many 

 cases reduced to two and sometimes one. 



Coconuts have long been grown on the lands bordering the 

 sea wherever the physical conditions permitted, but considerable 

 areas have recently been established inland, often on old cane 

 lands and to some extent on the site of forest. On the depleted 

 soils of the former type growth is somewhat slow, but fertility 

 may be expected to increase as shade and cultivation take effect. 



The island of Tobago, which has an area of 114 square miles, 

 lies 26 miles N.E. of Trinidad. It has a dorsal ridge 18 miles in 

 length and rising to 1,800 feet, and, except for a district in the 

 south-east, is much broken by hills and ridges. The agriculture of 

 the island closely resembles that of Trinidad, except that the 

 sugar industr}^ on which it at one time depended, has practically 

 died out. The estates are occupied by cacao and coconuts, 

 and there is a large body of peasant proprietors who grow food 

 and raise stock for their own support and for export to Trinidad. 



