CACAO OR COCOA. 15 



which may communicate moisture to the soil in dry seasons, 

 and receive its drainings in times of rain. A preference is par- 

 ticularly to be given to land which can receive from the river the 

 benefits of irrigation without being exposed to injury from its 

 overflow. 



After having chosen the land, it should be cleared of all trees, 

 shrubs, and other plants. This operation is performed in various 

 ways. It is customary in Colombia to commence felling the 

 trees immediately after the rains, that is, about the month of 

 November; the wood, after being cut, is left to dry, then collected 

 in heaps and burnt. 



As soon as^he new plantation is cleared, it is crossed with 

 small ditches, in directions according to the declivity of the soil. 

 These serve to drain the stagnant waters, to carry off the rains, 

 and to irrigate or water the soil whenever necessary. The aligne- 

 ment is then laid out, in which the cacao trees are to be arranged. 

 They are planted in triangles or squares. In either case, there is 

 always in the centre an alley, bordered by cacao trees, and running 

 from east to west. When they are planted in squares, this alley 

 is crossed by another running from north to south. The cacao 

 plants should be placed at fifteen or sixteen feet (French measure) 

 from each other, in good soil ; and about thirteen or fourteen feet 

 in soil of inferior quality. 



This is almost the only tree in nature to which the enlivening 

 beams of the sun are obnoxious. It requires to be sheltered from 

 their ardour ; and the mode of combining this protection with the 

 principles of fertility, forms a very essential part of the skill 

 which its cultivation demands. The cacao tree is mingled with 

 other trees, which guard it from the rays of the sun, without 

 depriving it of the benefit of their heat. The Erythrina and the 

 banana are employed for this purpose. The latter, by the rapidity 

 of its growth, and the magnitude of its leaves, protect it for the 

 first year. The erythrina endures at least as long as the cacao ; 

 it is not every soil, however, that agrees with it. It perishes after 

 a while in sandy and clayey ground, but it flourishes in. such as 

 combine those two ingredients. 



In the Antilles this protection cannot be given to cacao, as it 

 would expose the plantation to destruction by every hurricane. 

 Besides, the cacao succeeds but indifferently there, and is much 

 less oily than in other parts. 



The quality of the soil, and the species of the erythrina, should 

 determine the distance at which they ought to be placed. That 

 kind which the Spaniards call lucare anaveo, is planted in a fertile 

 soil, at the distance of two alleys, that is to say, at each second 

 range of cacao trees. That which they call biicare peonio, is placed 

 at three alleys in good soils (about forty-eight French feet). 



The former species of erythrina is that which elevates itself the 

 highest. The second species has many thorns, the upper surface 

 of the leaf is darker and the lower whiter. Both kinds should be 

 cut in the wane of the moon, and remain in the shade until its 



