54 CACAO 



ascertained what the land requires before plant-food of 

 any kind is used for the enrichment of the soil. The same 

 argument applies to the use of material now largely- 

 advertised as being able to supply nitrifying organisms 

 to the soil by aid of certain artificial cultures of bacteria. 

 If bacteria are already there in sufficient quantity none 

 need be added ; but if they are not there steps should be 

 taken to place them there by means of artificial inoculations, 

 or, better, by the application of manure which contains or 

 will generate them in due course in a natural manner. 

 It is a difficult task, however, to find out whether they are 

 in the soil or whether absent ; and here again experiments 

 must be relied on for information. Having found what 

 manure is required, it should be applied judiciously, i.e. 

 neither under or overdone, and, if nitrifying organisms are 

 absent, means should be taken to supply them. 



It will be seen, therefore, that the application of manure 

 requires judgment and skill, and should only be carried 

 out under the personal supervision of an experienced 

 cultivator, or loss may result. Where, however, a planta- 

 tion will evidently be the better for the general application 

 of manure on account of the soil proving to be naturally 

 poor, regular applications should annually be made in the 

 best form available. 



Any kind of chemical manure, nitrogen, potash, or 

 phosphate, &c., should be applied with the greatest caution, 

 and buyers should know by means of chemical analysis 

 the exact proportion of ingredients it contains, in order to 

 be able to supply it in a systematic manner. Farmyard 

 or stable manure can always be applied with much greater 

 safety than chemical manure, but its action is not so 

 quickly apparent, though its effects are generally more 

 permanent and it has a mechanical effect upon the soil, 

 not obtainable from artificial manures, which is highly 

 beneficial to growing plants. In a lecture by Dr. J. A. 

 Voelcker, M.A., F.I.C., &c., the following statements occur 

 which are of the greatest importance to cultivators in 

 general. He says : " I have not unfrequently been asked 



