May 1908.] 



the beans of which would all require just 

 the same degree of fermentation. 



(2) It would be possible to propagate 

 disease-resisting varieties. 



(3) Grafted plants, well eared for, 

 should fruit earlier than seedlings, thus 

 giving a quicker return on capital in- 

 vested. 



(4) The return per acre should be in- 

 creased by the selection of prolific types. 



(5) The effect of grafting may tend to 

 dwarf the plants. This would be an 

 advantage in islands which suffer from 

 much windy weather. 



(6) The growing of grafted selected 

 cacao, combined with intensive cultiva- 

 tion, would be the high-water mark of 

 successful cacao cultivation. 



Over 200 grafted plants have been 

 taken from two selected trees in the 

 Botanic Station. Sixty have been planted 

 in the gardens, These will be carefully 

 watched and the results recorded later. 

 A number of these are the Alligator 

 cacao (Theobroma pentagona) worked on 

 Porastero stocks. 



On estates where the area of cultiva- 

 tion is being increased each year, the 

 system mentioned above should be 

 tried. It should be a recognized part of 

 estate work to propagate, by grafting, 

 the best strains of cacao. Botanic 

 Stations cannot in this inscance supply 

 large quantities of plants, because cacao 

 plants in bamboo pots cannot be con- 

 veyed long distances by road in islands 

 like Dominica, without considerable ex- 

 pense and probable injury to the plants. 

 —Agricultural News. Vol. VII. No, 154. 

 March 21, 1908. 



[Cacao is being more and more culti- 

 vated in every tropical country, and 

 ultimate victory will be to the one 

 employing the most " scientific " methods 

 of getting the lai gest crop of best quality 

 at least cost, Ed.] 



429 



Edible Products, 



No. I Fermented 8-r> days Washed 

 No. IVa „ 4-5 „ 

 No. IVb „ 4'5 ,, Unwashed 

 No. Va „ 6-5 „ Washed 

 No. Vb ,, 6"5 ,, Unwashed 

 No. Via „ 7 5 „ Washed 

 No. VIb „ 7"5 „ Unwashed 



All seven samples consist mainly of 

 medium-sized beans, but in several a 

 number of small and shrivelled beans 

 are included. The colours of the beans 

 are on the whole poor, Nos. IVa, IVb, 

 and I being the best in this respect. 

 The husked cocoas, in all cases, show a 

 faint purple tint and do not " break " 

 readily, indicating that they are incom- 

 pletely fermented. This is the case even 

 with samples Nos. I and VI, which are 

 described as having been fermented for 

 S"5 and 7'5 days respectively. As re- 

 gards the colour and "break" of the 

 husked cocoas, Nos. IVa and IVb appear 

 to be the best of the seven samples, in- 

 spite of the fact that they were fer- 

 mented for the shortest period (4 '5 days). 

 Nos. I, IVa and IVb contain a few mouldy 

 beans, and the others a larger propor- 

 tion, in one case nearly ten per cent, of 

 partially perished beans. The flavour 

 and aroma of all the samples are mild 

 and rather poor when compared with 

 those of good West Indian cocoas. 

 Chemical Examination. 

 The samples were analysed in the 

 Scientific and Technical Department of 

 the Imperial Institute, and gave the 

 results recorded in the following table. 







S3 S 



O cS 



CO 

 CD 



ITS 



COCOA PROM THE GOLD COAST. 



A number of samples of cocoa beans 

 were forwarded to the Imperial Institute 

 for examination by the Director of the 

 Botanical and Agricultural Department 

 of the Gold Coast Colony in August 1905. 



The collection of samples was stated 

 to represent the product obtained in a 

 series of experiments conducted " in the 

 preparation of cocoa grown in the Bota- 

 nical Gardens at Aburi with a view to 

 ascertaining the most satisfactory me- 

 thod to adopt in preparing this product 

 for market." 



Description op Samples. 

 Seven samples of cocoa beans were 

 received. These were described as fol- 

 lows :— 



W 



O g 



o.2 

 . °* 



° a 



p 



CO 



>~> 'r*> 



c3 ctJ c3 

 'd "O 



m io t3 io t3 



3 § a g s 



vo >C t3 

 CO ■ o 



3 ca 

 i a 



pq ft| tu Pm 



iC ^ >0 



tn ti) 

 <U ? CD l> 

 CO T3 CD 



a 2 a 



u H 



a> <d 

 N PR 



H > > > 

 1-1 >H r 



£ " H 



> > > 



