356 COCOA 



CHAP. 



In accordance with this view is the fact that the 

 planter in Grenada, having no shade trees, does himself 

 what the shade tree does in other countries. He must 

 keep the soil in good condition, and has to till and 

 manure the soil in order to keep it loose, giving humus 

 and plant-food to the soil in the form of pen -manure 

 or other organic substance. In the meantime he has 

 to take care that the soil is as much shaded as possible 

 by the cocoa trees themselves, by planting them closer 

 than would be useful if shade trees were planted. 



The principal difference between the cultivation of 

 cocoa without shade trees in Grenada and the ordinary 

 cultivation, is therefore the care which is given to the 

 soil in order to keep it in good condition in spite of 

 the lack of shade trees. This makes the cocoa cultiva- 

 tion in Grenada a more careful orchard cultivation than 

 is to be found in the other countries ; and I believe this 

 care for the soil is the secret of cocoa-growing without 

 shade. 



But not every soil can be handled in this way 

 with the same success ; and we may readily assume 

 that success will only be met with when dealing with 

 soils which are loose and have a good constitution from 

 the first. 



The first cocoa plantations in Grenada were estab- 

 lished on the mountains at a higher level than the 

 sugar estates. After the decline of the sugar industry, 

 cocoa was more and more planted in the low lands. 



Therefore the soil of the cocoa plantations varies 

 from alluvial clay to more or less decomposed rock. 

 The best soil for cocoa is often considered the clayey 

 soil which still contains parts of the rocks by the 

 decomposition of which it was formed. 



A special study of the Grenada soil has not yet been 

 made, as far as I know. Some samples have been 

 analysed, but we do not obtain in this way information 

 about its physical structure, and it would be interesting 

 to have such information in order to compare the soil in 

 Grenada, where cocoa can be grown without the soil- 



