PRODUCTION OF CACAO 239 



the colony has largely increased its standing among the 

 first-class producing countries. 



The exact acreage of land under cacao in Trinidad is 

 unknown, as no proper facilities at present exist for 

 ascertaining the amount of land under cultivation, and 

 therefore only estimates are available, which do not appear 

 to be of a character to allow of accurate deductions. 



If, however, the export of cacao from the island is taken 

 for the last two years in the above table we find that it 

 averages a total of 49,433,882 lb. In 1910 the actual 

 exports were 57,839,074 lb. 



If we take the average number of trees per acre at 200, 

 and the yield per tree at 1'65 lb., we are able to show from 

 these factors that the cacao area is some 149,799 acres, 

 and the yield per acre some 330 lb. 



In a paper by the Hon. Carl de Verteuil, read at the 

 Agricultural Conference, Barbados, 1907, it is stated that 

 a Government Committee reported the area under cacao 

 as " unknown," and drew attention to the entire absence 

 of statistics relating to agriculture, and Mr. De Verteuil 

 follows this by recording that in the Blue Book for 1904-5 

 the land under cacao is " given as 190,000 acres." From 

 other statistics, based on estimates only, Mr. De Verteuil 

 deduces that the average yield per acre " for 1904-5 (a 

 good year) and 1905-6 (a poor year) is 3 J bags per acre, 

 the bag being equal to IJ cwt., or 140 lb., giving 452*5 lb. 

 per acre, which is considerably in excess of the estimated 

 average yield of ten bags of 165 lb. per 1000 trees " (West 

 Indian Bulletin, vol. viii., p. 141, 1907). 



Previous pages show that the limit of yield is a very 

 elastic one, and that Mr. De Verteuil's estimate is not 

 high by any means, nor does it reach by a considerable 

 distance the actual limit of yield per tree, which is proved 

 by Brown's table {Trinidad Bulletin, vol. viii., p. 68). 



The relative production of cacao is tabulated in the 

 Gordian for the undermentioned countries for the year 

 1910 as fpljows, leaving out fractions of 100,000 lb. : 



