196 



COCOA 



CHAP. 



Fauchere l gives the following account of the labour 

 involved in Trinidad in picking and breaking about 

 30,000 fruits, giving about 1000 kilograms of market- 

 able cocoa : 



Picking ( = one man's work for 10 days) . 

 Gathering ( = one man's work for 20 days) 

 Breaking ( = one man's work for 4 days) . 

 Extracting seeds ( = one woman's work for 1 5 days) 



6'. 



12 



16 



4 



12 



<L 





 



10 

 



44 10 



FIG. 65. Shelling the pods (Triuidad). 



Photo. Jticobsun. 



Yield. Generally the cocoa tree bears a few pods 

 in its third year, but with a slower growth the first 

 fruits may not appear until the fourth year. An 

 almost full harvest may be obtained in the seventh or 

 eighth year, but generally the yield continues to increase 

 a little until it reaches its maximum in the tenth, 

 eleventh or twelfth year. The planter is sometimes 

 advised not to allow a young cocoa tree to bear before 



1 Fauchere, Culture pratique, p. 80. 



