478 COCOA 



CHAP. 



as much as Is. 8d. per Ib. is paid for it on the local 

 market. The European manufacturers, however, would 

 not pay so much, considering again the aroma and the 

 taste as being too feeble. 



In some respects the culture cannot be said to 

 be backward, and the irrigation is especially worth 

 consideration. The water is conducted into small canals 

 made of cement, which bring it to the different parts 

 of the plantation. From these canals the water is 

 allowed, when necessary, to run into the shallow irriga- 

 tion trenches, of which one is present for each row of 

 cocoa trees. 



The pruning is also done with care, but the picking 

 is effected in a very primitive way, the fruits being 

 simply twisted off by means of a fork-shaped instrument 

 fixed on a pole of wood. 



The " cacao del pais " is generally fermented during 

 two days, the "cacao estrangero " at " Valle Menier" 

 during four to five days. Washing is not done. 



About 30,000 to 50,000 kilograms cocoa is yearly 

 imported into Nicaragua from Guayaquil (Ecuador). 



Costa Rica 



Though the cocoa tree seems to grow well in Costa 

 Rica, along the Atlantic as well as along the Pacific 

 coast, the culture has no great importance. 



Most cocoa is cultivated along the Atlantic coast, 

 where the climate seems to be the more appropriate, on 

 account of its larger rainfall. 



A good class of produce is obtained from Matina, 

 near Port Limon. 



The Government of Costa Rica is anxious to 

 encourage the culture of cocoa by affording premiums, 

 but apparently without great success. 



Still, a small quantity has been exported during the 

 last decennium ; the exports in 1906-1912 amounted 

 to: 



