24 



COCOA. 



Janeiro ; requiring but little labour and capital, it is well worthy of 

 more attention. 



The mode of forming a plantation in Brazil is as follows: after 

 having cleared and burned off the suitable land near the bank of a 

 river, small holes are made in the ground and a seed placed in each ; 

 in order to keep down weeds and to shelter the young plants from the 

 sun and winds, bananas (Musa) are planted throughout the grounds. 



At the end of three years the tree is well grown and begins to pro- 

 duce fruit. These are ripe about June and December, and are knocked 

 off the trees with the aid of long forks. They are then piled in heaps 

 on the ground or under shade, and allowed to ferment for three or 

 four days, after which they are cut open and the beans or seeds 

 removed, which are spread on the ground or on mats to dry.* The 

 tree flourishes well on the banks of the rivers Madeina and Salimoes. 

 There are two harvests yearly, the first in December and January ; 

 the second, which is the most abundant, in May and June. The tree, 

 whether in its wild or cultivated state, is not injured by the over- 

 flowing of the rivers, even when the trunk is deeply submerged during 

 the inundations. In the provinces of Amazonas and Para it grows 

 naturally without culture, and the trees produce freely, requiring no 

 care except the collection of the fruit, which in those localities forms 

 the fortune of the daughters of the cultivators. 



Para. — In the ten years ending 1862 the shipments of cocoa 

 from Para amounted to 2,094,119 arrobas, being an average of about 

 6,700,000 lbs. per annum. 



Though in many cases carelessly cultivated, it grows for the most 

 part spontaneously. The tree with moderate care will continue to 

 give two yearly crops for fifty or sixty years. The towns in this 

 province which send cocoa for shipment to the capital are Cameta, 

 Gurupa, Obidos, and Santarem. 



The exports from Para were in 



Arrobas. Arrobas. 



1864 267,968 1867 366,838 



1866 94,966 1869 158,975 



nearly all goes to France. 



Besides this chocolate the Brazilians prepare another sort from the 

 fruit of the cupuassu {Deltonea lactea). This is limited to the pro- 

 vince of Para and a few manufactories, the principal of which are in 

 Belem, the capital. 



Culture in the East. — The experiments on the cultivation of the 

 cacao tree on the Neilgherry Hills is still a subject of attention mth 

 the Government of India. It is some years since a large number of 

 the young trees were introduced into the Budliar Gardens, and their 

 cultivation was so far a success that about four years ago two cases of 

 seedlings from the gardens were sent as specimens to Calcutta. The 

 Government recently inquired whether seedlings of another species 

 would not be acceptable, and a case of the new variety was to arrive 



* Scully's ' Brazil.' 



