11 
If cacao were a plant very different from other cultivated 
plants and required radically different treatment it would 
not be possible to do justice to the subject in such a small 
book but fortunately the underlying principles of plant cul- 
ture in general can be applied to cacao in every case. Al- 
though cacao has been grown in the West Indies almost 
since the Islands were discovered and probably before, it 
has scarcely been cultivated in the sense in which that term 
is usually applied . But as said before, it responds to cultur- 
al treatments like the orange or the apple and it is with 
the hope that such improvements as have been made in 
orange culture for instance, will also be made in cacao that 
we present this pamphlet to the West Indian planters. 
VARIETIES 
The botanical name of cacao is Theobroma, and two spe- 
cies are cultivated viz. Theobroma cacao and Theobroma 
pentagona. Practically all the cacao grown in the West 
Indies belongs to the species Theobroma cacao which has 
been separated into three classes * viz: Criollo, Forastero and 
Calabacillo, under each of which several varieties are recog- 
nized. It is difficult however, for the practical planter to cis- 
tinguish these varieties because usually there are so many in- 
termediate strains which have come through the interminxing 
of two or more varieties that the gradations are not very \is- 
tinct. Even the three main classes cannot be readily distin- 
guished because they vary in color as well as thickness of 
pod, and they vary even in shape of pod. For instance, the 
Forastero with its typical cucumber shaped pad is melon 
shaped in the variety called Amelonado and in that respect 
* Classification of Mr. John Hinchley Hart F. L. &., formerty 
Director Trinidad Botanical Gardens. 
