40 
broken up and stirred occasionally. There is only one sub- 
stitute for working the soil and that is covering it up. 
But in order to be successful the layer must be fairly thick 
and replenished from time to time. A thin layer such «ts 
from weeds produced in the plantation itself during the 
rainy season is not enought. Such weeds may serve as a 
mulch immediately around young trees but spread broad- 
cast it would be of but little value. Therefore in order to 
employ the method of mulching as a substitute for cultiva- 
tion it becomes necessary to have land on which to grow 
plants for that purpose only. It should be remembered also 
that the roots form in the surface soil inrmediately beneath 
the mulch and whenever this is decayed and not replenished 
the roots die. For the same reason mulch cannot be left 
on the ground for a long time and then be forked in as 
that would destroy the roots. This as a matter of fact, 
happens in the plantations today where there is some leaf 
mold present and where the roots grow profusely near 
the surface during the rainy season. The roots formed there 
are practically all destroyed by forking and it is questiona- 
able whether forking under those conditions is beneficial 
or not. For loosening the soil it would be better to insert 
the fork and withdraw it without turning it over. 
The question of cultivation is very difficult to discuss 
ina manner that may be of benefit to the man who has 
an old plantation because with the system of close planting 
of cacao and shade trees often on steep hillsides with bare 
clay soil, nothing in the way of cultivation is thoroughly 
satisfactory, Tlumus is the first thing needed, but it is too 
shaded to grow any smaller plants, and mulch is really 
the only resort. 
In new plantations planted on level land and with the 
trees about 20 feet apart the conditions are different. There 
