104 COCOA 



CHAP. 



given place wholly to the less fine but hardier Forastero 

 varieties. This is the case in Trinidad, and to a 

 great extent also in Java and in Ceylon ; and even in 

 Venezuela the Forastero seems to be gradually taking 

 the place of the Criollo. This is not to be wondered at. 

 The difficulties connected with the cultivation of the 

 Criollo are numerous, and not always compensated for by 

 the higher price of the product. The Criollo, especially 

 when young, requires in every respect much greater care 

 than the Forastero, and it is also more liable to disease. 

 It begins to bear two or three years later, and the yield 

 per acre is smaller than with the Forastero. 



For these reasons the planter will generally prefer 

 a good variety of Forastero, and will only decide 

 on Criollo in places where the conditions are excep- 

 tional where the soil is very fertile, rich in humus and 

 of fine texture ; where the climate is favourable in 

 every respect ; where the situation is a sheltered one ; 

 where no destructive diseases are prevalent ; where 

 intelligent labourers are available. 



The question as to which type of Forastero should be 

 recommended is a difficult one. Types which are fine 

 in one country often lose their good qualities in another. 

 So, for instance, the Trinidad Forastero (an Angoleta 

 type), as well as Hart's " Trinidad Criollo " (which is 

 really a Forastero of a Cundeamor type ; see Chapter V.), 

 both give in Trinidad a very good product which is 

 much finer than the Surinam cocoa ; but when imported 

 into Surinam, they turned out to be of no especial value 

 in that country, and in several respects inferior to the 

 common Surinam Amelonado. 



Accordingly, the safest plan for the planter who 

 establishes a plantation in a country where cocoa is 

 already grown, is to study the local variety and try to 

 find its best and most profitable types. He should also 

 examine the varieties grown in neighbouring countries, 

 where the conditions of soil and climate are not very 

 different. At the same time, the study and comparison 

 of the different good varieties from all parts of the 



