CHAPTER III 



SELECTION OF LAND 



It is for the prospective planter who contemplates starting 

 in a colony which offers both cultivated and uncultivated 

 or forest lands, to determine which he will choose for his 

 operations. Immigrant planters sometimes arrive in the 

 tropics with vague views of what they are going to do, 

 some having an exaggerated idea of their own skill and 

 importance ; while others, less confident, show an inquiring 

 nature, are not hasty, and endeavour to see for themselves 

 what class of property will best suit their purpose and 

 resources. In the West Indies generally there is little 

 virgin land suitable for cacao now remaining, but in 

 Trinidad there is land available of every class, and also a 

 small quantity in Dominica. There is usually plenty of 

 " ruinate " or abandoned land on offer, and the colonist 

 has, therefore, considerable choice before him. He can 

 either buy a going concern or he can buy other land and 

 make his own estate. 



If the investor has no previous experience of cacao- 

 planting he should seek the advice of some capable expert 

 in order to enable him to judge between the different lands 

 which may be offered to him. 



In the usual course of business, small and large estates 

 are constantly passing through the market, and the price 

 of these varies according to the locality in which they are 

 situated and the quality of the land. The value of an 

 estate is usually estimated at per tree, or per 1000 trees, 

 and not at per acre, and what might be worth in some 

 districts but sixty cents would in other and celebrated 

 districts be worth as much as $2 or 8s. 4d. per tree. 



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