COCOA 



cocoa still "grows luxuriantly in spite of undrained and 

 sour condition of the soil." 



This can only occur, however, on exceptionally good 

 and rich land, and the careful planter will always have 

 his soil drained as well as possible. The good results 

 of his care will be evident in a longer life of his trees 

 and a greater power of resistance against certain 

 diseases (e.g. canker), especially in years with a heavy 

 rainfall. 



In hilly countries, where the soil is porous, it will 

 be sufficient to make shallow drains of, say, 1^ to 2 

 feet deep, made almost at right angles to the slope and 

 on a small incline (this incline is generally made about 

 80). When, however, the soil is compact and the 

 air penetrates only with difficulty, deeper drains may 

 be recommended, both to get rid of the water and 

 to aerate the soil to a greater depth. 



In Guiana, and especially in Surinam, the drainage 

 question is more important than in any other cocoa- 

 growing country. The system adopted there will be 

 discussed in Chapter IX. 



It is useful and instructive for the planter to obtain 

 an idea of the level of the water in the soil at different 

 times of the year and on different parts of his estate. 

 By digging holes or short trenches he will see that, 

 especially in the rainy season, this level is at some 

 places much higher than he expected, the reason being 

 that at those places the subsoil has a low grade of 

 permeability. Where he expected to find water 

 standing only at a depth of 4 feet or more, after a 

 shower in the rainy season he may find it at a depth of 

 1 foot for several days. In such a case it is advisable 

 to improve the drainage by digging trenches 2 to 3 feet 

 deep. 



In some countries, where the rivers rise considerably 

 during a season of the year, it is impossible to keep 

 down the water-level. In such cases it is often found 

 that occasional floods are very well endured by the 

 cocoa, at any rate when they do not last too long 



