IIISTOKV AM» «t LUNATION OK TIIK I'l-ANT. ly 



the Montserrat districts, the Cacao estates occupy ojx-n glades 

 and moderately uiKliilating country, ranj^inj^^ from almost sea level 

 to 150 feet or 200 feet. I'lic sub-soil in ihcse- districts is of a 

 marlv character, overlaid, chielly in hollows, hy t^^avclly loam, 

 moderately dee|) and remarkably free from rocks and stones. 



"In Grenada. Cacao is generally cultivated at a higher 

 elevation than in Trinidad, some estates occupying hill sloj)es 

 up to Scx) feet.* The best estates are, however, at the foot of the 

 hills or in sheltered glades, on land formerly cultivated in sugar." 



As regards the planting. Cacao requires more care and 

 thought than is generally imagined. 



I*\)r instance, it is not only necessary to be ready beforehand 

 with Cacao seeds or plants, but the plants have to be shaded and 

 protected by larger trees, which are put in either befori! the 

 Cacao or at exactly the same time. The Cacao are planted at 

 exactly the same distances apart, and in the centres of scjuares. 



♦ Mr. R. S. Ross gives us some interesting particulars of a Cocoa plantation, during 

 a visit to the West Indies, .iboiii 1874 : — " It was in the mountains, several hundred feet 

 above the level of the sea. The climate was quite Eurojxran, the thermometer seldom 

 rising above 76". In the distance the deep blue sea, in the valley l>eIow the groves 

 of Cocoa trees, interspersed with cokcr-nut trees and stately palms. Of the trees planted 

 to shelter the Cocoa I will describe but a few. The Caracoli, as large as an elm, is 

 planted in rows ; it is a splendid evergreen, bearing a sweet white blossom. Among other 

 large trees are the bread-fruit, the shaddock, and the glorious mango, which is the si/e of 

 a large horse-chestnut, and is thickly covered with leaves. The fruit is not unlike an egg- 

 plum in shape, but three times as large and of a beautiful golden colour, strcakc<l 

 with red.' 



