74 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



Cacao, known botanically as Theobroma cacao, is a native of 

 the regions along the Orinoco and Amazon and of Central 

 America. The tree normally attains a height of 15 to 40 feet. 

 It bears large, oblong, rather thin, shiny leaves and large pods 

 6 to 9 inches long of a red-gray or yellow color when ripe. 

 The pods are ridged lengthwise and are variously covered with 

 wartlike protuberances. Each pod contains from 20 to 45 

 large seeds, or cacao beans, closely packed in a gelatinous mass. 

 The pods are borne, for the most part, along the trunk of the 

 tree or on the sides of the large branches. 



The cacao tree is considerably injured by temperatures 

 below 60° F. It therefore does not thrive beyond 20° north 

 or south of the Equator. The cultural requirements for 

 cacao are very similar to those for coffee, but it must always 

 be remembered that cacao is more sensitive to cold, drought, 

 and wind. The rainfall requirement for cacao depends much 

 upon the drainage and the physics of the soil. The limits of 

 rainfall for good vigorous growth of cacao lie perhaps between 

 60 and 190 inches per year. It is often stated that for the 

 vigorous development of cacao the soil must contain an ample 

 supply of potash and nitrogen and a medium amount of phos- 

 phoric acid. This, however, is little more than a guess since 

 few experiments have been carried out with fertilizers in the 

 production of cacao. The tree is quite tolerant of salt and 

 will grow even in brackish soil. 



The pod husks constitute 79 per cent, of the weight of the 

 whole pod, while the seeds together with the pulp make up the 

 remaining 21 per cent. An analysis of fresh cacao beans will 

 show a water content of 37.6 per cent. ; proteids, 7.2 per cent. ; 

 theobromin, 1.4 per cent.; caffein, o.i per cent.; fat, 29.3 per 

 cent.; glucose, i per cent.; starch, 3.8 per cent; fiber, 8.1 per 

 cent. ; cocoa red, pectin, and astringent matters, 8.7 per cent. ; 

 tartaric acid, 0.6 per cent., and ash, 2.35 per cent. During 

 the process of fermentation cocoa red, the coloring matter of 

 cocoa and theobromin, the stimulant constituent of cocoa, are 



