VI 



THE CULTIVATION OF COCOA 111 



may do just as well. 1 Still the banana is always easier 

 to grow than the plantain, and as its roots go deeper it 

 acts at the same time as an improver of stiff soils. The 

 plantain may, however, be preferable from a financial 

 point of view, as on many local markets its fruit fetches 

 a higher price than the banana. 



The bananas may be planted as temporary shade at 

 a distance of 10 to 15 feet apart; the plantains are 



Photo. Auguste Curiel. 



Fia. 37. Cocoa field of a small proprietor (a British Indian immigrant) in Surinam. 

 The plantains are dying, and the cocoa is without sufficient shade. 



better planted a little closer, 8 to 12 feet apart. Fig. 

 36 shows two schemes of planting adopted in Surinam. 



A drawback of the plantain is its short lifetime on 

 soils which are not very rich, so that if this plant is 

 used, the planter must always be careful to plant the 

 permanent shade trees in time, otherwise it may happen 

 that when the plantains suddenly begin to decline, the 

 cocoa will stand without shade. This is not a rare 



1 The banana (often called in South and Central America "bacoba," "bacouba," 

 "bacove")is eaten raw as a fruit; the plantain (often called " bana " or 

 "banana" by the Creole people in tropical America) is only eaten cooked, 

 roasted or baked. 



