396 COCOA 



CHAP. 



X. CEYLON 1 



The cocoa plant was introduced into Ceylon by the 

 Dutch in the early nineteenth century. 2 But the main 

 of the cocoa, cultivated at the present time, is probably 

 the offspring of plants obtained from Trinidad by Sir R. 

 Horton in 1834-35 and the varieties imported in 1880 

 and 1881 from the same place. 3 



The decline of the coffee culture, between 1870 and 

 1880, in consequence of the combined attacks of leaf- 

 disease and green bug, induced the planters to start 

 another culture, and from that time cocoa was cultivated 

 with much success. 



The first export, in 1878, amounted to 500 kilograms; 

 in 1885, 343,300 kilograms were exported; in 1890 

 about 1,000,000 kilograms; in 1895 about 1,500,000 

 kilograms. From that time the following amounts 

 were exported : 4 



Kilog. Kilog. 



1896 . . . 1,837,100 



1897 . . . 2,221,700 



1898 , . . 2,434,100 



1899 . . . 2,379,100 



1900 . ..." . 1,890,400 



1901 . ' . . 2,697,000 



1902 . . . 2,673,100 



1903 '. . . 3,075,300 



1904 . . . 3,254,800 



1905 . . . 3,224,900 



1906 . . . 2,509,600 



1907 . . . 4,699,600 



1908 . . . 2,836,200 



1909 . . . 3,570,000 



1910 . . . 4,069,000 



1911 . . . 3,064,000 



1912 . . . 3,500,000 



The most important crops in Ceylon are tea and 

 Para rubber, then follows cocoa. The number of estates 

 in 1909 was 2091 with a total area of 957,709 acres, of 

 which 30,016 acres were planted with cocoa. In 1910 

 the area in cocoa amounted to about 27,000 acres. 

 This acreage is apart from 5800 acres (approximately) 



1 Literature about cocoa in Ceylon : Herbert Wrigbt, Cocoa ; Circulars 

 and Agricultural Journal of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ceylon (especially 

 vol. vi. No. 6, "Cacao Cultivation in Ceylon," by R. H. Lock) ; The Tropical 

 Agriculturist (Colombo, Ferguson). 



2 Jumelle, Le Cacaoyer, p. 183. 



3 Herbert Wright, Cocoa, p. 6. 



4 Gordian. 



