THE OBJECTS OF PRUNING 49 



on manuring. Where leguminous cover-plants are grown 

 weeds must be kept in check ; those cut down should be 

 spread beneath the cocoa trees to serve as a mulch, and 

 when they decay valuable organic plant-foods will be 

 added to the soil. 



The ground should not be allowed to become caked 

 on the surface. A loose soil absorbs more water than a 

 compact soil, and surplus water drains away far more 

 rapidly from the former than from the latter. Loose 

 soil is far better aerated than compact soil. Air is not 

 only essential for the proper development of the roots 

 of plants, but also for that of the nitrifying bacteria, 

 which are generally most abundant in the first 6 in. of 

 surface-soil. Forking should therefore be practised 

 wherever there is no danger of injury to the tender 

 rootlets of the cocoa tree, but a network of these is 

 frequently found quite near the surface, and it is only 

 possible to adopt an exceedingly superficial system of 

 forking to avoid damage in these areas. 



Pruning. The main objects of pruning are : the pro- 

 duction of symmetrical trees, with a maximum quantity 

 of fruiting branches ; to facilitate the admission of air and 

 light to all parts of the tree ; to encourage a spreading 

 habit, which enables the fruit to be more easily harvested ; 

 and to remove gormandising suckers which rise from 

 the main stem. Cultivated cocoa trees usually com- 

 mence to branch when about 3 ft. high. In the case of 

 trees which produce branches when lower than this, 

 it is usual to prune off all but one of these secondary 

 branches. The advantage of this practice is open to 

 doubt, and there seems to be no reasonable explanation 

 why a tree, branching at a foot from the ground, should 

 not give as good results as one which branches at three or 

 more feet from the ground. 



The primary branches are generally restricted to 

 three, but there appears to be no reason why, when four 

 or even five appear, they should not be allowed to remain. 

 The primary branches are the principal fruiting branches, 

 so that if thinning be necessary this can be sufficiently 

 practised on the secondary or tertiary branches. 



It is obvious that a tree branching near the ground 

 is most likely to develop a low spreading habit, and 

 fruits are more readily gathered from such types. When 

 4 



