JS MANUKIXG AND PRUNING. 



The Cacao tree, although it likes a deep rich soil, is also a 

 •STjrrare fepdin;:; plant, and the ground around the trees cannot 

 Ije dug ')! forked with impunity, for although the tree will stand 

 ■ronsidpral)1e hardship, it is nevertheless materially injured when 

 the ronts are mutilated. There are conditions, however, such as 

 "^viien (he surface soil has been ihoroughlj- baked by drought, 

 •xvhf>n it would be beneficial to lightly prick it up with a fork, 

 t;iK-irig care not to break the roots. A slight forking is however 

 jiprmissible at times previous to appl3'ing farm-yard manure 

 ■III in the surface : having due regard of coarse to what has been 

 >ui I ill the forpgiiing on the injur}' caused by the injudicious use 

 <it fiiik and spade. Manure applied to the surface should be 

 ■tovered if possible with a thin la3-er of earth, but if applied in 

 the foim of compost, this is not so necessary an operation, as the 

 ■volatile constituents of the manure are then in a great measure 

 tlield fast. 



In appl3-ing chemical manures of a caustic character, it is 

 Jiiways well to mix them with a suitable proportion of absorbent 

 -oartli, and to cover again with .i coating of the same nmterial. 

 The prinrirj- object in applying manure is to maintain a due 

 TpropoMion of plant food when laud has become exhausted of its 

 i^iatural constituents, or to supph' something in which the land 

 is deficient. It is of course pateno that with the continued 

 production of annual crops a large quantit}' of material is 

 a-emoved from the soil, and this must be replaced either by 

 anature, or artificially, or the crop will fall short. Farm-yard 

 "«ianure takes a foremost position for this purpose amongst all 

 otViers, and long continued practice shows that when properly 

 applied it is of the greatest value to the land, not only for its 

 tnanurial properties, but also for its mechanical action upon the 

 «oil, and moreover, it can never be as dangerous to use as 

 •chemical manures, which are admitted to be decidedly hazardous 

 "when applied by unskilled labour. By unskilled labour I do noli 

 mean the peasant or farm hand only, but I refer to educated 

 people who take up the business of agriculture without due 

 ■study, acting under the impression that the}' were "born" to till 

 the ground. 



In some cases quick lime becomes a powerful ally to the 

 ^-altivator, but on the other hand its undue application "tends to 

 ■exhaust the soil of valuable constituents, and therefore it should 

 •'.Iways be used with great caution. In nature, manure is given 

 to_ the roots of trees by the decomposition of vegetable and 

 mineral substances, and is carried downwards by rain water 

 worms, and other agencies, llain water itself also provides a 

 certain quantity of plant food in solution. The plant or tree 

 «i6es not liowever, obtain all its food from the soil, as tha 



