HUMIDITY OF THE GOLD COAST CLIMATE 13 



Venezuela 



In the South American Republic of Venezuela, which 

 lies between 1° 40' and 12° 26' North latitude, cocoa 

 is principally cultivated in the warm, moist, lower 

 lands. At Guayara, which is the principal seat of the 

 cocoa trade, the mean temperature is 85° Fahr. The 

 temperature is, however, considerably moderated by 

 the trade winds, and great extremes of heat are not 

 met with. The rainy season proper at Guayara only 

 lasts about three months, May to August, but is more 

 extended in the hills. In many districts it is thus only 

 possible to cultivate cocoa successfully by the aid of 

 irrigation. The hottest periods are the middle of April 

 and the end of August. The average annual rainfall 

 at Caracas is 31" 5 in. ; that of Maracaibo, the Caribbean 

 Coast, the Gulf of Paria, and along the Orinoco, is 70, 

 65, 63 and 60 in. respectively. 



West Africa 



In West Africa cocoa is more or less cultivated from 

 8° North latitude to 8° South latitude. It is more 

 extensively planted in the Gold Coast than in any other 

 part of the West African Coast, and more cocoa is ex- 

 ported from that Colony than from all the other West 

 African Colonies. 



The principal districts in the Gold Coast where cocoa 

 is cultivated are in the neighbourhood of Aburi, 

 where, at the Botanic Gardens, meteorological observa- 

 tions have been regularly recorded for many years. 

 Below are given the means of ten years' records. 



The most striking feature of these records is the small 

 rainfall as compared with that of most other cocoa- 

 growing countries. In several parts of West Africa 

 the rainfall exceeds 100 in. per annum. At Aburi the 

 low rainfall is no doubt compensated for by the humidity 

 of the atmosphere. In Kandy, one of the principal 

 cocoa-growing districts in Ceylon, the average mean 

 annual relative humidity is given as 78; that of Trinidad 



