COCOA. 



7 



Year. 



Lbs. 



Lb. 



Year. 



Lbs. 



Lb. 



1856 



3,634,135 



0-13 



i 



1 1866 



4,053,133 



0-14 



1857 



2,647,470 



0-09 



1 1867 



4,228,654 



0-14 



1858 



2,860,034 



0-10 



1868 



5,115,943 



0-17 



1859 



3,013,859 



0-11 



1869 



5,701,880 



0-19 



1860 



3,230,978 



0-11 



1870 



6,153,981 



0-20 



1861 



3,407,672 



0-12 



1871 



7,252,035 



0-23 



1862 



3,622,433 



0-12 



1872 



7,791 ,763 



0-24 



1863 



3,712,231 



0-13 



1873 



8,284,260 



0-26 



1864 



3,862,273 



0-13 



1874 



8,854,690 



0-27 



1865 



3,826,425 



0-13 



1875 



9,957,610 



0-30 



Culture in Trinidad.— The distance at which the trees should 

 stand apart will be modified to some extent by the altitude at which 

 they grow, and by the different habit of growth or the different 

 varieties — the trees usually being smaller and of more compact habit 

 as altitude increases, some varieties have an erect, and some a spread- 

 ing habit — but it will range from ten to thirty feet. 



The first pruning should consist of removing all weaker branches 

 which happen to cross each other closely, and the branchlets (smaller 

 branches) to such an extent as to leave the principal branches free of 

 each other, and as much as possible, radiating regularly from the 

 centre of the tree. 



The smaller of the principal branches should also be removed 

 where they are crowded ; and in larger trees, all branches which 

 have a downward tendency, so that a regular canopy of branch and 

 foliage may be formed overhead, supported on fruitful column-like 

 stems. 



The growth of every tree over four or five years old will be at 

 least two feet in the spread all round in one year, until the full 

 dimensions are reached. 



The best months for pruning in the West Indies are March and 

 April, but pruning of large branches may be done in August and 

 September, should the branches have no young fruit to sacrifice. The 

 model form of a cocoa tree, and which should always be kept in view 

 by the grower — either with regard to trees to be renovated or young 

 plants — is this ; a straight single stem up to three feet from the ground, 

 and dividing into two or three as it grows higher ; each of these 

 again dividing into two or three branches, make up the framework or 

 principal branches which termiuate numerously in the leafy branchlets 

 regularly disposed into a well-formed head. The tree uninterfered 

 with from the beginning will assume to itself more or less accurately 

 this mode of growth — termed trichotomous by botanists — which being 

 innate with it, the model is of very easy attainment, and ensures the 

 greatest possible production of fruit in the least possible space. 



The cocoa tree is a deep rooter, and therefore soils of the second 

 class, and those of the valleys — especially where they are much 

 broken — are best suited to it. 



Aspect is a most important consideration in the culture of cocoa in 

 all countries, and it does not thrive in valleys of easterly and northerly 



