128 COCOA 



at least one healthy plant at each spot. In countries 

 where the trees have to be carefully cultivated in order 

 to give a good yield, and where, accordingly, close 

 planting is avoided, only one tree out of the three or 

 four is finally left. Where the cultivation is not so 

 difficult, and the trees do not need to be pruned and 

 cleaned so carefully, as is the case in Ecuador, the trees 

 often are all allowed to remain ; in this way three or 

 four trees will grow up together at each spot. 



In choosing a suitable site for the establishment 

 of the nursery, the planter not only has to consider 

 whether the site will permit a good and strong 

 development of the young plants, but also must take 

 care that it is as close as 'possible to the place where 

 the plants have to be planted out. When the plants 

 have to be brought a considerable distance from the 

 nursery to the field, many of them will sustain damage 

 to their root-system, and will show a poor growth, 

 or even die, after the transplanting. It may therefore 

 be desirable to establish several nurseries on different 

 parts of the plantation, and this will always be necessary 

 when a large area has to be planted ; one nursery to 

 every 5 hectares (12|- acres) or at the utmost 10 hectares 

 (25 acres) may be recommended. It is possible, of 

 course, that labour conditions may make this system 

 too expensive in particular localities. 



The young plant in the nursery must grow up under 

 shade, at any rate in the first period of growth. 

 Accordingly, the nursery may be placed under shade 

 trees, for instance on a spot near the house or even in 

 the plantation itself under the shade trees. This 

 method, though cheap and easy, is not to be re- 

 commended. The roots of the trees make it difficult to 

 prepare the soil of the nursery with all the care it 

 demands, and a still greater drawback is the im- 

 possibility of regulating the shade under these conditions. 

 It is therefore advisable to establish the nurseries on 

 open spots and to shade them artificially. 



The next consideration is the soil to be used in the 



