THE COCOA TREE AND ITS FRUIT 15 
the ground has been cultivated for over a century, and no irrigation 
is practised. The sediment spread over the land by the rains during 
the rainy season and the decaying vegetation appear to afford suffi- 
cient nutriment. In some haciendas, however, the proprietors pile 
up leaves and other vegetable matter found in the vicinity of the tree 
at its foot, and also rub down the bark with coarse cloths to destroy 
the adhering parasites. 
‘“‘The enemies of the cacao 'tree are the ardillas, the monkeys, 
many species of small birds which attack the pod, and various para- 
sites, all but two of which are as yet unclassified. These two are 
the ‘ mosquilla’ and ‘mancha.’ Continued vigilance protects the fruit 
from the parrots, animals, etc., but little has been done to extirpate 
the parasites of the trunk. 
‘Tn the sixth or seventh year, the tree commences to bear, but the 
pods at this time are very small and scarcely repay the effort to gather 
them. In the tenth year, the tree reaches full maturity. It then pro- 
duces on an average 1 pound of dry cocoa of good quality. There 
are many trees which produce more, especially those which are isolated, 
some of which have yielded at one picking as much as 7 or 8 pounds. 
In the province of Oro (Machala), 1% to 2 pounds per tree is the esti- 
mated yield. The tree isin bloom during the entire year, but most of 
the blossoms fall before fructification, which occurs twice a year, the 
time varying with the locality. 
‘“The cacao tree grows to a height of 20 or 30 feet ; its leaves are 
evergreen and lanceolated in form; the base of the main trunk attains 
a thickness of 8 to 10 inches; the bark is hard and of greenish coffee 
color. The blossom is very small, pinkish white, and waxlike in 
appearance. It grows directly out of the main trunk and branches. 
If it fructifies, the petals fall off, and from the stamens, in the course 
of from fifty to seventy days, an oblong pod is developed. This pod 
is of golden color, and contains some twenty to thirty-five grains of 
cacao, enveloped in a gummy liquid, which coagulates on exposure to 
