28 CACAO 



of decayed vegetable matter, easy of access, and in a 

 district distant from lagoons or marshes for the sake of 

 the proprietor's health. Such a spot in a climate similar 

 to Trinidad could not fail to produce regular crops of the 

 finest quality of cacao. 



Elevation above sea-level has also to be considered in 

 choosing ground for planting cacao. The higher the 

 elevation the lower the degree of temperature experienced, 

 and the trees make smaller growth and give less in annual 

 produce. 



Plantations existing at 800 ft. to 1000 ft. above sea- 

 level in Trinidad are few and far between, and cannot take 

 rank among first-class estates. 



The mean annual temperature of Trinidad (which is 

 admittedly in the first rank of cacao-producing countries) 

 at 50 ft. to 100 ft. above sea-level is found to be 78-5° Fahr., 

 from a record of twenty years' observations. The mean 

 annual relative humidity is 79°, and it has a rainfall per 

 annum of 66-6 in. The average rainfall of the island, 

 calculated on returns from over one hundred stations, is 

 72-39 in., and it is certain that the relative humidity in 

 many districts is higher than at the station only 100 ft. 

 above sea-level. The island rainfall Table shows falls as 

 high as 124 in. per annum in the more humid districts, 

 while coast stations on the western side of the island show 

 falls of under 50 in. 



Cacao planting is chiefly carried on below the thousand 

 feet limit. Glaishier shows in his tables that temperature 

 decreases some 3-2° Fahr. per 1000 ft. upwards from sea- 

 level, from which it will be seen that the mean annual 

 temperature suitable for cacao lies between 75-3° and 

 78-5° Fahr. It may therefore be gathered that planting 

 cacao at high elevations is not a measure of good practice 

 or economy, unless in specially favoured situations as 

 regards soil and exposure. 



The chemical composition of soils suitable for cacao 

 will be given in the chapter on the Chemistry of Cacao, 



