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THE CULTIVATION OF COCOA IN MAYUMBE (BELGIAN 
CONGO). 
By J. CLarsseEns,? 
Colonial Office, Brussels. 
[Agsrract. | 
Cocoa-growing is extending in Mayumbe. Actually there 
is an area of 8,750 acres of cocoa trees, from one to fifteen 
years old. In 1903 Mayumbe exported 89,565 kilogrammes of 
cocoa beans. Now about 1,000 tons are exported. 
The country is characterized by a dry season of four to 
five months’ duration. This defect is partly rectified by a 
rather dainp atmosphere. During the dry season fogs and 
dew are abundant, and the sky is very often clouded. The 
annual rainfall varies more or less between I,1000 and 1,800 mm. 
(44 in. to 72 in.). 
The variety of cocoa mostly cultivated in Mayumbe is the 
Amelonado of San Thomé. Until recently, shade was pro- 
cured from trees which had belonged to the primitive forest. 
Trials of cultivation without shade were unsuccessful. 
Among the enemies which sometimes occasion importan\ 
damage to the cocoa trees in Mayumbe are Salberghella sin- 
gularis (cocoa-tree bug), and a fungus (? Diplodia cacaicola), 
which attacks the trunk. 
The principal defects noticed in the cultivation of cocoa in 
Mayumbe, and also the improvements that should be adopted, 
may be stated briefly as follows :— 
(1) The planters do not as a rule cultivate their soil 
sufficiently to make it deep and pervious. 
(2) When clearing the land more care should be taken to 
preserve a part of the forest on the top of the hills. In the 
flat parts of the country with impervious sub-soil, the forest 
should also be maintained along the banks of rivers subject 
to overflow. It is very useful to keep some groves of trees to 
act as wind breaks. 
(3) The soil is often left uncovered after clearing by fire 
instead of being sown with rapidly growing plants, preferably 
leguminous. Close plantation, to cover the soil as rapidly as 
possible, is not common enough. The size of the planting 
holes is often not sufficient in the heavy soil. 
1 This paper was read for the author by M. E. Leplae, Director- 
General of Agriculture, Colonial Office, Belgium. 
