PLANTING CACAO 48 



is done on the average about twice in each year. It is 

 done by task work as a rule in Trinidad, and at the rate 

 of 40 cents to 50 cents per task, or at a cost of about 5*. 

 per acre. The cost of weeding, of course, depends upon 

 the amount of weeds to be cut, and the better the plantation 

 covers the ground, the smaller number of weeds there will 

 be. The planter does not use the hoe freely for cutting up 

 weeds, but it is a convenient tool for use in the younger 

 stages of a plantation, before the roots of the cacao have 

 taken possession of the surface. Hoe weeding is then 

 much more effective than cutlassing, but great care should 

 be exercised to prevent the surface roots being injured. 



Whatever system is used, the bush or weeds should 

 never be allowed to be rolled up so as to cover the stem 

 of the tree, but should be neatly made into windrows to 

 be distributed over the ground again, when sufficiently 

 decayed, or used as a mulching around the base of the 

 young trees, covering the ground as fully as possible for 

 the purpose of preventing the rapid appearance of further 

 crops of weeds, keeping the ground moist, and affording, 

 by the gradual decomposition of material, a supply of 

 suitable plant food to the young cacao-tree. 



