COCOA. 



25 



by one of the ships daily expected at Calcutta, it being the desire 

 of the Government that the seedlings should be planted in the Budliar 

 Gardens, where the results of the first experiment had been so 

 satisfactory. 



The cocoa tree was introduced into Celebes by the Spaniards be- 

 tween 1560 and 1570. About 1500 piculs were produced in 1854, 

 and since then the production has greatly increased ; the yield there 

 is about 5 or 6 lbs. per tree. 



Culture in the Philippines. — The cacao tree was first imported into 

 the Philippines from Acapulco, either, according to Camarines, by a 

 pilot called Pedro Brabo de Lagunas, in 1670, or, according to 

 Samar, by some Jesuits during Salcedos' government, between 1663 

 and 1668. Since then it has spread over the greater part of the 

 island, and although it is not cultivated with any excessive care, its 

 fruit is of an excellent quality. This cacao of Albay, if its cheap- 

 ness be taken into consideration, may be regarded at least equal to 

 that of Caracas, is so much prized in Europe, and which, on account 

 of its high price, is generally largely mixed with inferior kinds. 

 The bushes are usually found in small gardens close to the houses ; 

 but so great is the laziness of the Indians that they frequently 

 allow the berries to decay, although the native cacao sells for a 

 higher price than that imported. 



At Cebu and Negros a little more attention is paid to its cultiva- 

 tion ; but it does not suffice to supply the wants of the colony which 

 imports the deficiency from Ternate and Mindanao. The best cacao 

 of the Philippines is produced in the small island of Maripipi, which 

 lies to the north-west of Leyte ; and it is difficult to obtain, the entire 

 crop generally being long bespoke. It costs about one dollar per litre 

 (llf pints), whereas the Albay cacao costs from two to two and a half 

 dollars per ganta (three litres). The Indians generally cover the 

 kernels just as they are beginning to sprout with a little earth, and 

 placing them in a spirally rolled leaf, hang them up beneath the roof 

 of their dwellings till required for planting. They grow very rapidly, 

 and to prevent their being choked by weeds are planted out at very 

 short distances. This method of treatment is probably the reason 

 that the cacao trees in the Philippines never attain a greater height 

 than eight or ten feet, while in their native soil they frequently reach 

 thirty, and sometimes even forty feet. The tree begins to bear fruit 

 in its third or fourth year, and in its fifth or sixth it reaches maturity, 

 when it usually yields a "ganta" of cacao, which, as before mentioned, 

 is worth from two to two and a half dollars, and always finds a pur- 

 chaser. 



The profits arising from a large plantation would therefore be con- 

 siderable, yet it is very rare to meet with one. The great obstacles in 

 the way of large plantations are the heavy storms which recur almost 

 regularly every year, and often destroy an entire plantation in a single 

 day. In 1856 a hurricane visited the island just before the harvest, 

 and completely tore up several large plantations by the roots ; these 

 catastrophes naturally caused much discouragement to the culti- 

 vators. 



