116 HARVESTING AND TRANSPORTING 



tend to obviate the danger of fruits becoming over-ripe 

 on the trees, and fruits which have not assumed the 

 characteristic hue associated with ripeness may with 

 less likelihood of deterioration be left on the trees. 



Extreme care should be exercised in severing the fruits 

 from the trees. The cocoa tree produces the greater 

 part of its fruits on the trunk and main branches, and 

 flowers and fruits may be produced from the same region 

 for many consecutive years. 



The first flowers are produced in the neighbourhood 

 of a leaf scar ; they may be solitary or in groups. It is 

 estimated, however, that less than 1 per cent, of the 

 flowers develop into mature fruits, although two, three, 

 and even six fruits eventually may develop from one 

 group of flowers. 



Six months usually elapse between florescence and the 

 maturation of the fruit. 



If a young cocoa tree which is bearing its first crop of 

 ripe fruits is examined, it will be observed that the stem 

 is slightly swollen at the point where a fruit-stalk is at- 

 tached. Should the fruit be separated from the tree 

 by cutting through its stalk with a sharp knife, so as to 

 leave a piece of the stalk adhering to the stem, a layer 

 of cork-tissue subsequently forms at its base, which cuts 

 off its connection with the stem and it falls to the ground. 

 At the point of separation a slight depression is observed 

 in the swelling or cushion on the stem. In Plate 7 can 

 be seen sections of fruit-stalks adhering to the trunk, and 

 also nicely healed, scar-like depressions from where fruit- 

 stalks have fallen. 



The large protuberances shown on the stem in the 

 same plate are the result of the swellings formed 

 during the production of fruit of several seasons. New 

 flowers and fruits also may be seen springing from 

 them. 



Let us return to the young fruiting tree. If the ripe 

 fruit is carelessly pulled off, part of the cushion-like 

 swelling at the base of the fruit-stalk in all probability 

 will be removed with it, and the tree's power of producing 

 further crops of flowers and fruits from that region will 

 be checked. Similarly, when a fruit is torn from an older 

 tree, part of the cushion almost invariably is wrenched 

 away with it. 



