18 



COCOA 



CHAP. 



to the rainfall can be given, however, because here again 

 it depends wholly on different circumstances whether 

 the cocoa suffers or not. Generally speaking, however, a 

 rainfall of more than 5000 mm. (196 in.) is unfavourable. 

 When the rain falls in heavy showers, which last only 

 for a short time, while the rest of the day is bright and 

 sunny, the effect of a heavy annual rainfall is not so 

 detrimental as when the rain falls more slowly but more 

 continuously ; and when the soil is porous and drains 

 quickly, a heavy rainfall will not be so harmful as on a 

 stiff, compact soil, which gives off the water slowly. 



Thus in Surinam, where the soil is very compact, 

 months with a rainfall of 400 to 500 mm. (15'5 to 19 '5 

 in.) are decidedly unfavourable, and in the rare cases 

 when more than 500 mm. (19 '5 in.) of rain has fallen 

 (for instance, in February 1902 and April 1907), much 

 damage was done. In Java, however, even larger 

 amounts are not at all an exception on several estates, 

 and the cocoa does not show any ill effects when the 

 soil is porous and the drainage perfect. At the planta- 

 tion "Widodaren," for instance, the following quantities 

 of rain were experienced without harming the cocoa : 



From the foregoing it will be clear that a simple 

 statement of the total amount of rain per month or 

 per year conveys only a very imperfect idea as to the 

 humidity of the soil, especially with regard to its cap- 

 ability for the cultivation of cocoa. A few examples 

 may, however, be given, and further details as to the 

 peculiarities of the different cocoa-growing climates will 



