314 COCOA CHAP. 



are placed round the foot of the trees. The trees die 

 earlier and produce less than in the plantations which 

 are worked more carefully. When a tree dies seeds 

 are sown close to the vacant place, after the soil has been 

 tilled to a depth of 6 or 7 inches. Notwithstanding 

 this careless treatment, the yield is fairly high, which 

 must be regarded as a proof of the excellent quality of 

 the soil. 



Fermenting and curing are carried out in as 

 primitive a way as by the negroes on the Gold Coast, 

 and the produce is mostly sold to native merchants. 



(2) The second class of plantations vary in size 

 from 10 to 100 hectares (25 to 250 acres). A few 

 belong to natives or Creoles, but most of them to 

 Portuguese, who manage them themselves or have a 

 European manager. Some of these estates are very 

 carefully cultivated. The owner is generally assisted 

 by two or three European labourers, and requires 

 about one native per hectare (2|- acres). 



As the transport and the treatment of the cocoa are 

 not so well arranged as on the large estates, com- 

 paratively more labourers are required. Therefore the 

 profits gained on these plantations are small. Chevalier 

 thinks that newly established plantations of this kind 

 would scarcely give any profit at all within the first 

 ten years. 



(3) The third class of plantations comprise the 

 large European estates or " rocas." Some belong to 

 private persons, others to agricultural companies, and 

 most of them represent a capital of several millions 

 of francs. Nearly all belong to Portuguese and are 

 worked with Portuguese capital. The establishment 

 of a large estate is very expensive, and after it is 

 established it requires a large European staff and about 

 one labourer for every 2 hectares (about 5 acres), 

 exclusive of those required for the enlargement of the 

 plantation and for the treatment of the produce. 



Chevalier describes one of these estates themanager's 

 house and the neighbouring buildings, amongst which 



