308 



TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



After the incidents related by Joseph cocoa seems 

 to have had a precarious existence ; many converted 

 their plantations into the cultivation of the, then, 

 more profitable sugar cane. I have it on good au- 

 thority that the sugar plantation known as El Socorro 

 at San Juan, was formerly a fine cocoa plantation, 

 but was converted into sugar cane. As such it was 

 dn full swing at my advent and so remained down to 

 1890. 



Notwithstanding the fact that cocoa was cul- 

 tivated in Trinidad more than 200 years ago, I assert 

 that the industry was in its infancy when I came to 

 Trinidad. Montserrat had just started and I think 

 the whole district did not produce more than 600 bags 

 a year. When Mr. Cipriani was Mayor of Port-of- 

 Spain he began planting cocoa in that ward in 1877. 

 In order to induce the Government to extend the rail- 

 way to Couva, he assured Mr. Des Voeux that by the 

 time the railway would be complete to that district, 

 say three years later, that Montserrat would be able 

 to supply 6,000 bags. This would therefore be six 

 years after the time I fix the estimate at 600. The 

 output of cocoa from the Ward Montserrat carried by 

 rail last year (1910) was 25,000 bags. A similar 

 statement can be made relative to Arima, Caura, 

 Chaguanas, Couva, Blanchisseuse, Erin, Manzanilla, 

 Mayaro, Moruga, Toco. I mention them by wards, 

 but there are many other large districts which I have 

 not enumerated. 



I have been asked by a well known agriculturist 

 to ' ' boom up Caura ; " I am sorry I cannot exclusive- 



