THE CULTIVATION OF COCOA 173 



that it is sometimes said that lime " makes parents 

 rich, but children poor." It also accelerates the 

 decomposition of the humus. It is, therefore, not 

 advisable to give lime to the soil year after year with- 

 out other manure ; but it often produces good results 

 if it is combined with organic manures (mulch, compost), 

 or is followed by the application of farmyard manure. 

 But lime, or lime-containing compounds or mixtures, 

 must never be applied at the same time as, or mixed 

 with, farmyard manure, sulphate of ammonia, or other 

 ammonia -containing manures, because lime liberates 

 the ammonia from such manures and allows it to escape 

 into the air. There should be an interval of some six 

 weeks between the applications of such incompatible 

 manures. 



To simplify the explanation of the experiments 

 with the other manures, let us take as an example a 

 clay soil, rich in potash, so that this element may be 

 omitted. Two cases may be considered : (A) when no 

 farmyard manure or other organic manure is available, 

 and (B) when sufficient farmyard manure is available 

 to apply 3 tons per acre. 



(A) When no organic manure is available, the series 

 of experiment plots should be arranged as follows : 



In plot 5 the basic slag is not, of course, given 

 together with the sulphate of ammonia, as it contains 

 lime ; the basic slag is applied first, and six weeks 

 afterwards the sulphate of ammonia. 



If we had not omitted the potash manure, a trial 

 could have been made with an application of 60 kilo- 

 grams of sulphate of potash per acre, also in combination 

 with the other manures. 



