25 
SOIL 
The requirements of the cacao tree are not essentially dif- 
ferent from those of other cultivated trees. There are 
certain soil conditions closely approaching the ideal, but 
judging from the widely different soil types in which trees 
are growing and apparently thriving well it is evident that 
climatic conditions and cultural methods may make up for 
certain soil defects. It is not so difficult to judge a soil as 
many people imagine but it requires knowledge to handle 
different soils so as to obtain the best results. An ideal soil 
is usually described as a deep alluvial deposit with a pervious 
clay subsoil and covered with a thick layer of humus formed 
by decayed vegetable matter. But indeed such a soil would 
be ideal for any cultivated crop. With such a soil under 
the management of a competent man the various burning 
questions, such as small yield, diseases, plant food etc., 
would be more than half solved, but, although such soil 
cannot often be obtained, it is certainly well to keep the 
ideal in view. A soil to be at all suitable must be fairly 
friable. A stiff clay, deficient in humus, should never be 
chosen. The soil should also be deep, if there are but a 
few feet of it underlayed by an impervious subsoil it is 
unsuitable for cacao. In such locations a tree may grow nor- 
mally for a few yéars but after the roots strike such an 
impenetrable strata and curl up instead of growing down- 
wards the tree will soon show the effect of it. The same 
is true of water if the normal water level in the soil 
comes up to within about six feet of the surface the roots 
will not have sufficient room for healthy growth and diseases 
of various kinds will gain entrance. Aside from the under- 
