VARIETIES OF COCOA 69 



expected in the third year, and a crop of some import- 

 ance may be gathered in the fifth year, while full 

 production may be reached in the eighth to tenth year. 

 The full-grown Forastero tree gives a larger yield than 

 the Criollo. 



The original home of the Forastero is unknown. 

 From the fact that the various types of Forastero are 

 better known and distinguished in Venezuela than in any 

 other country, one would be inclined to conclude that 

 Venezuela, more especially the eastern part, the basin 

 of the Orinoco, was the home of the Forastero. This 

 is not improbable from other considerations. In 

 Venezuela it is not called Forastero, but " Trinitario " 

 (or " Carupano "). This name, " Trinitario," must not 

 lead, however, to the assumption that the Forastero came 

 originally from the island of Trinite or Trinidad, for 

 historical facts show conclusively that Trinidad imported 

 the Forastero from Venezuela ; as we shall see in 

 Chapter IX., this variety was imported from Venezuela 

 to replace the Criollo, which was devastated by a 

 disease. 



I. CRIOLLO 



Before discussing the characteristics of these varieties 

 and the modifications which have been made in Hart's 

 definitions of the main varieties, a few words may be 

 said about the word " Criollo," for different authors use 

 this word in different senses, with the result that much 

 misunderstanding has arisen. 



" Criollo " is a Spanish word which means " Creole." 

 Hart is quite right in saying that the true interpreta- 

 tion of the word " Creole " is " one born in a country or 

 one belonging to a country." For instance, a child born 

 either of white or coloured parents in Trinidad is a 

 " Trinidad Creole " ; if born in Venezuela, it is a " Vene- 

 zuelan Creole," no matter whether it is white or 

 coloured. In fact, "Creole" should be translated by 

 " native " and not by " wild " or " coloured." l 



1 Hart, Cacao (2nd edition, 1900), p. 54. 



