CHAPTER VII 



PROPAGATION 



The cocoa tree may be propagated from beans or by 

 budding or grafting. The first mentioned method is 

 the one most commonly employed. jj 



Bean Selection. — The careful selection of the beans 

 is of the highest importance, for upon this largely depends 

 the quality and often the quantity of the resulting crop. 

 It is of far more consequence than is the case with annual 

 crops, where the sowing of seed of inferior varieties in 

 any one season may be remedied the following season. 

 With cocoa several years must elapse before the results 

 are apparent. The cocoa planter should endeavour to 

 produce a crop of even grade, and to enable this to be 

 done it is necessary to obtain beans from similar trees. 

 In selecting the species or variety to be cultivated 

 he must be guided to a very large extent by the local 

 conditions as regards soU and climate. 



The CrioUo varieties of Theobroma cacao, and Theobroma 

 pentagona are less hardy and require a richer soil than 

 Theobroma sphcerocarpa and the Forastero types. The 

 produce of the first two mentioned is of better quality and 

 of higher market value than that of the last mentioned 

 types. But as Theobroma sphcerocarpa and the Forastero 

 varieties generally yield larger crops than the others 

 it is probable that the gain in weight compensates for 

 the lower price obtained. The CrioHo varieties and 

 Theobroma pentagona are more susceptible to disease, 

 and wUl require much greater care and attention in dis- 

 tricts where this is prevalent. As previously stated, 

 the Forastero varieties and Theobroma sphcerocarpa 

 produce flatter beans than those of the CrioUo varieties 

 and Theobroma pentagona, but some trees of the former 



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