COCOA-GROWING COUNTRIES 295 



Grenada could also be called gardens though a little 

 less clean, and those of Trinidad large plantations. 

 The plantations in Ecuador, however, are forests and 

 partly even bush." Many planters, however, have now 

 begun to use more modern methods of planting and 

 cultivation, and there are some very beautiful plantations, 

 especially some of those belonging to Mr. Seminario, 

 " Clementina " in Arriba, and the plantation in Balao 

 which belongs to the Morla family. 



Notwithstanding the primitive methods of cultivation 

 the trees in the Ecuador plantations are very vigorous ; 

 they are conspicuous by their large dimensions, and they 

 surpass in height as well as in thickness those of other 

 countries. On an average they grow 8 metres in 

 height, but trees of 9 and even of 10 metres are not 

 rare. 



It is customary to plant very closely. In the older 

 plantations the distance between the trees is not greater 

 than 2 to 2^ metres (6 to 7 feet). Two, three, and 

 sometimes five trees are planted in the same hole, and 

 only some of the suckers are removed, so that several 

 stems remain at each planting place, and the whole 

 plantation assumes a very dense, bushy appearance, 

 quite different from the appearance of the plantations 

 in Trinidad or Surinam. (Figs. 58, 59, 98.) The trees 

 lack the regular form which cocoa trees assume when 

 they are allowed to develop freely and the suckers are 

 removed. It must be added, however, that there is 

 now a tendency to plant the trees wider apart, and in 

 the new plantations a distance of 3*3 metres =10 feet 

 (4 varas) is chosen, and only one plant is planted in 

 each hole. 



With the exception of the province of Esmeraldas, 

 the variety grown in Ecuador a Forastero is the 

 same throughout the whole country, and the size and 

 appearance of the fruits is very uniform, a fact which 

 is the more remarkable because in most other countries 

 where Forastero varieties are grown, the cocoa represents 

 a mixture of many different sub-varieties or types. 



