VI 



THE CULTIVATION OF COCOA 141 



open place of the stock-plant and firmly tied to it by 

 means of raffia or other string (Figs. 49, 50). 



Mr. Harris prefers watershoots, both for taking the 

 buds from and for budding upon, and when the tree which 

 it is desired to propagate by budding has not sufficient 

 watershoots to yield the number of buds required, he 

 recommends that it should be cut down, leaving only 

 the stem a few feet high, and that the growth should be 

 fostered as much as possible, by manuring where this is 

 found useful, or by forking or otherwise, in order to 

 obtain several strong, quick-growing watershoots. Mr. 

 Harris also considers watershoots the best kind of 

 branches to bud upon ; but young plants are also quite 

 suitable as stock. 



If the trees which are chosen to bud upon are rather 

 old, they are also cut down and watershoots allowed to 

 grow up. Of these two are left. One of these is used 

 to bud upon and the other is left " to keep up the root," 

 i.e. to foster the vitality and growth of the plant. 

 When the bud is firmly established and has grown out 

 to a strong shoot, this second watershoot is removed. 



The details of the operation may be gathered from 

 the illustration (Fig. 49). 



When the watershoots have a diameter of f to 1^ 

 inch, they are fit to be budded upon or to be used as 

 bud-wood. 



Mr. Heyl, however, obtained equally good results 

 with buds taken from twigs as with buds from water- 

 shoots, and prefers to bud upon young plants. As bud- 

 wood strong twigs, about one year to one year and a half 

 old, and with a diameter of about 1 cm., should be used, 

 while the plants to be budded upon should also be one to 

 one year and a half old, and about the diameter of the 

 little finger. Before budding the young cocoa plant is cut 

 a few centimetres above the soil, and the bud is inserted 

 on the part remaining. The piece of bark is firmly 

 attached by means of raffia string, but care must be 

 taken to leave the bud itself free (Fig. 50). If a leaf is 

 still present under the bud, the leaf must be cut, so as 



