IX 



COCOA-GROWING COUNTRIES 333 



The soil must be deep ; the rocky underground not 

 too near the surface. In several plantations the soil is 

 very stony, but this is not considered to be in any way 

 detrimental. 



The preparation of the land, the planting and the 

 care of trees in the first two or three years, is either 

 done by the owner himself or by a contractor under the 

 so-called contract system. This system is the con- 

 sequence of scarcity of labourers. It may be briefly 

 described as follows : 



The planter makes a contract with a peasant or 

 contractor who has a certain number of labourers at his 

 disposition ; the contractor is bound to plant the land 

 with cocoa trees, and receives for his labour the use of 

 the land for the purpose of growing annual crops of 

 provisions, plus a fixed price per tree to be paid out to 

 him at the end of five or six years, when the cocoa .trees 

 commence to bear, and the land becomes useless for 

 gardening purposes. In 1889 an Ordinance was passed 

 controlling such contracts, and now each contract has 

 to be signed before the magistrate of the district. 



As an example of such a contract the following may 

 be quoted : - 



TRINIDAD 



IN THE MATTER OF THE AGRICULTURAL CONTRACT 

 ORDINANCE, 1889 



Statutory Contract made this day of 190 



Between of 



(hereinafter called the Owner), and 



of 



(hereinafter called the Contractor), for extending the cultivation 

 of the Estate in the Ward of 



in the Island of Trinidad. 



Whereas the Contractor was on or about the 

 day of 190 let into possession of 



of land or thereabouts bounded on the North 

 by lands of 



on the South by lands of 

 on the East bv lands of 



