December, 1909. 



509 



Edible Products. 



Planting by Seed.— Planting the seed 

 directly, or as it is often called, "at 

 stake," has, like planting nursery stock, 

 advantages and disadvantages. By 

 sowing the seed at stake, time is saved 

 and the plantation can be established 

 more quickly. It is probably this tact 

 that has led to the adoption of this 

 method in all the countries where cacao 

 culture is carried on to a large extent, and 

 where manual labour is scarce. Less 

 skill is required on the part of the 

 labourers to sow the seeds directly in 

 the spot in which the cacao trees are to 

 remain than to take the young plants 

 from the nursery and transplant them 

 to a more or less distinct place without 

 breaking the cube of earth that protects 

 their roots. 



It is necessary to keep close watch just 

 after the seeds are planted to defend the 

 young trees against adventitious plants, 

 which ordinarily grow with great 

 rapidity. Insects may also cause damage 

 by eating the plantlets at the time of 

 germination. 



Starting the plants in a nursery has 

 the advantage, as was said above, of 

 allowing the planter to make a careful 

 selection, and plant only the well- 

 formed and most vigorous specimens. 

 Besides, while the trees are starting in 

 the nursery— a period of from four to 

 ten months and possibly longer — it is 

 not necessary to cultivate the land. 

 Trained workmen are required, however, 

 for setting out the young plants. It is 

 a slow process, and not the method 

 usually employed in countries where 

 cacao plantations are laid out on a 

 large scale. But since both methods of 

 installing a plantation are in use, I shall 

 describe each one. Whichever method 

 may be used a nursery is indispensable, 

 for in plantations started from the seed 

 replacing is always necessary. 



Choice of Seed. — If in the country 

 where the plantation is to be started 

 there are a number of well-known 

 varieties of cacao, of which the needs are 

 also known, the first thing to be done 

 is to choose the variety that will furnish 

 a product of high commercial value, and 

 at the same time to be best suited to the 

 conditions in which it is placed. In 

 Madagascar this question of choice does 

 not arise as yet, for up to the present, 

 except for the kinds introduced by the 

 Department of Agriculture, which have 

 not yet borne fruit, there is but a single 

 variety in existence. 



Choosing the seed-bearing trees is 

 quite a different matter. These must 

 be selected with extreme care, in fact 

 it is the only way by which the yield can 

 be improved. For this reason fruit for 



this purpose must never be taken from 

 trees that are not prolific and healthy, 

 and the fruits themselves must be well 

 selected, the small or imperfect ones 

 being thrown out. They must be picked 

 as soon as they are thoroughly ripe, 

 and as short a time as possible before 

 planting. 



If for any reason it is necessary to 

 delay the sowing for some little time, or 

 to send the seeds away, it is a good plan 

 to open the fruit pods as soon as possible 

 after picking, remove the seeds and 

 place them in layers, alternately with 

 layers of sand or mold in a packing case 

 if they are to be shipped, or in a pile if 

 they are to be planted near where they 

 were picked. If the distance is not too 

 great, it is better to keep the fruits in- 

 tact until the seeds are placed in the 

 ground ; however, in this case it is neces- 

 sary to use the seeds very soon, or 

 fermentation will begin within the fruits 

 and a number of seeds be rendered 

 worthless. 



When the planting is about to be done 

 the fruits are broken and the seeds 

 taken out. lnperfect seeds and those 

 near the ends are rejected. In Madagas- 

 car it is reckoned that one fruit will 

 provide not more than twenty-five seeds. 

 From this it is easy to calculate in a 

 general way the number of fruits needed 

 if four seeds are placed in each hole. The 

 seeds being removed from the fruit the 

 watery pulp that surrounds them is 

 next washed off. The planters of Suri- 

 nam and Trinidad do not do this as a 

 rule. They roll the seeds in lime or 

 ashes and then dip them in citron juice, 

 to protect them from the bites of insects, 



If the hole has not been made in which 

 the cacao is to be planted, it will be 

 necessary to clear away the brush to a 

 radius of 2 to 2-5 meters about the picket 

 marking the place. The top of the soil 

 is tlfen broken over a surface 50 to 60 

 centimeters in diameter, the stake mark- 

 ing the centre. Then the seeds are 

 placed in this space about 25 to 30 centi- 

 meters apart, at the corners cf a triangle 

 if three are planted, or at the corners of 

 a square if four. 



The seeds should be sown at a depth 

 of from 2"5 to 3 centimeters, and the soil 

 spread over them lightly. In Trinidad, 

 where it is not the custom to dig holes, 

 the method I have just described is fol- 

 lowed, and the labourer plants usually 

 •' by the job," from 70 to 100 pickets, 

 according to the condition of the brush. 

 The clearing around these pickets and 

 the breaking of the ground are of course 

 included. 



It is necessary to go over the ground 

 frequently after the seeds are planted, 



