126 COCOA 



CHAP. 



out from nurseries exist, it is difficult to see why plant- 

 ing at stake should not be generally adopted. This 

 simple and natural method has the advantages that the 

 plants are not disturbed in their growth, that a free 

 development of the root system is obtained, and that a 

 saving of labour is effected. 



In many cases, however, when planting at stake is 

 practised, it is advisable to have a nursery made ready 

 in order to supply plants in case those in the field 

 should for any reason fail to succeed. The nursery 

 system, moreover, is indispensable when the plants 

 require special care in infancy for instance, when they 

 are liable to attacks from animals (insects, rats, etc.) or 

 parasites, which do not damage the plants after they 

 have attained a certain height but against which the 

 very young plants must be protected. 



In some countries rats are very troublesome to the 

 young plants ; they destroy them by eating the seed- 

 lobes, of which they are very fond. In other countries 

 the mole -cricket (Gryllotalpa) destroys the young 

 plants by cutting the young stem a little above the 

 soil, also with the object of eating the seed-lobes. In 

 the open field such enemies are fought with difficulty, 

 but in the nurseries precautions can be taken against 

 them. The nurseries can be protected against rats by 

 wire-netting, or can be established in a place which is 

 difficult for the animals to reach. The mole-crickets, 

 too, will rarely cause serious damage in nurseries, as 

 their habit is to wander through the fields and pick up 

 whatever edible plants they find. Still, if these or other 

 insects are to be expected in the nursery, the plants 

 can be treated with some poisonous spray (see Chapter 

 VIII. ). Such preventive means can only be applied in 

 nurseries, where the plants are all together ; in the open 

 field, the same remedies would be hardly possible or at 

 any rate very expensive. 



Another advantage of nurseries is that a selection 

 can be made, the weak plants being rejected and only the 

 strong ones planted out in the field. This advantage is 



