DISEASES OF CACAO 77 



De Verteuil, it appears, considered that a previous 

 introduction had been made, which, from the proximity 

 of Venezuela and Trinidad is highly probable. He writes 

 page 241 : 



From its first settlement Trinidad exported cacao ; and that cacao soon 

 gained a reputation on account of its deucious aroma. According to GumUla 

 it was superior to that of Caracas and other places so much so that the crops 

 were bought and paid for beforehand. In the year 1727 a terrible epidemic 

 spread in the cacao plantations. . . . Here, as in Venezuela, the growers 

 admit two distinct species, or varieties ; they are the Creole Cacao (Cacao 

 CrioUo) and the Foreign Cacao (Cacao Forastero). Whether distinct species 

 or mere varieties they have distinct characteristics. 



At page 243, in referring to Theobroma cacao, De Verteuil 

 states that species to be the source of supply for European 

 and American markets, and adds : 



It should be considered as the parent stock of all the numerous varieties 

 now cultivated (1884), all of which are the products of hybridism. 



The author is inclined to believe that Dr. (later Sir) 

 L. A. A. De Verteuil, K.C.M.G., with whom he had 

 the honour of a personal acquaintance, intended the word 

 hybridism to mean the cross-breeding between varieties, 

 and not hybridism between distinct species, a conclusion 

 the pretext strongly supports, which is in full accord with 

 the views of the writer as to the presence of innumerable 

 varieties of Theobroma. 



Whatever the kind was that was cultivated and reported 

 to have succumbed to disease in 1727, it is fairly evident 

 that it was more susceptible to disease than the later 

 introduced " Forastero," and in consequence was less 

 planted in subsequent years. The Trinidad " CrioUo " 

 is still much less vigorous than " Forastero," which tends 

 to show that this (the Criollo) was the kind so badly aflected 

 by disease one hundred and eighty-two years ago. 



To come to the present day, a compilation of the 

 diseases of cacao has been published by the Agricultural 

 Department of Trinidad, April 1909, and by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture, Jumelle, Wright, and others 

 in various works. 



Wright says in his " Theobroma Cacao or Cocoa " : * 

 * " Theobronja Oaoao or Qgcoa," A. Iff. rad J. Ferguson, Colombo, 1907. 



