162 COCOA CHAP. 



otherwise it becomes so hard that forking is no longer 

 possible. There is also another advantage in forking at 

 the early beginning of the dry season. This is, that in the 

 fairly wet soil and with the help of the few occasional 

 showers which are still falling, the tree is able at once 

 to restore its root-system, and in the coming dry season 

 will not feel any bad effects from the pruning of the 

 roots. 



Therefore in Surinam, for instance, the best time 

 for forking is generally August. After the heavy rains 

 in May, June and July the soil is generally dry enough 

 to be forked in August sometimes not till September 

 while in October it has become too dry and hard. 

 Often, however, the planter may not be able to fork all 

 his fields at this one particular time ; when this is the 

 case, he must during the rest of the year be on the 

 look - out to get the work finished in some other 

 season, when the soil is not too wet nor too dry. In 

 Surinam there is frequently an opportunity to do this 

 in the months of February or March, when for some 

 weeks the rainfall is fairly small and the soil is never 

 so wet as during, or after, the heavy rains of April, 

 May and June. There is no doubt, however, that the 

 beginning of the dry season is always the best time ; 

 during the drought the soil gets pulverised, and when 

 the rain begins to fall again the plant finds a well- 

 aerated, porous soil in which to develop its new roots. 



It is a question whether it is best to break the large 

 lumps of earth again after forking. Generally speaking, 

 it is not necessary and even not advisable, because a 

 soil which in the dry season is pulverised into too 

 small particles becomes " packed " again quickly after 

 a few rains. It is, therefore, generally preferred to leave 

 the soil in big lumps ; but when dealing with exception- 

 ally compact soils, it may sometimes be advisable to 

 break the lumps by means of the hoe a few days after 

 forking. 



Forking shortly before the dry season, however, has 

 also its drawback. When no more showers come, or 



