December, 1909.] 



511 



Edible Products. 



coming and going necessary in weeding 

 and watering the plants will be rendered 

 as easy as possible. The beds are then 

 levelled and the clods broken, after 

 which six furrows 20 centimeters apart 

 find 20 to 25 centimeters deep are made 

 in each bed. The seed, having been 

 prepared as described under " Planting 

 by Seed," are placed at the bottom of 

 these furrows at intervels of about 20 to 

 25 centimeters, care being taken to lay 

 them with the flat side down. The 

 surface of the bed is again levelled, 

 covering the seeds lightly. Whether 

 the surface is left bare, or is covered 

 with a light layer of mold or sand to 

 prevent it from baking, depends on the 

 location. Sand has proven very satis- 

 factory at the Ivoloina Experiment Sta- 

 tion. In Trinidad, immediately after 

 sowing, the ground is covered with 

 banana leaves which are removed after 

 germination begins. 



Immediately after the sowing, if it 

 has not been done before, shelters of 

 some sort must be erected over the 

 nursery. At the Tamatave station the 

 shelters are about 1*8 meters above the 

 ground. These provide the necessary 

 shade without preventing the free circu- 

 lation of the air, and are high enough so 

 that the labourers can work underneath. 



Solid pickets about 2 meters long are 

 planted in regular lines through the 

 beds. Their tops are connected by sticks 

 about 4 meters long which support a 

 network of smaller sticks, stalks of 

 rafia, or small palm leaves. Over the 

 whole are firmly attached branches of 

 heath, found commonly along the shore. 

 They are fortunate in having at Ivo- 

 loina plants which furnish sufficient and 

 well-regulated shade. These shelters 

 may be accused of being too costly, but 

 in an Experiment Station permanent 

 frames are necessary, because the same 

 place is used year after year for new 

 crops, and so far nothing more practical 

 has been found. 



The planter who has no use for such 

 durable shelters may follow the planters 

 of Surinam who lay palm leaves over 

 frames that are about 15 meters from 

 the ground and supported on solid poles. 

 In Dutch Guiana 1 have seen this method 

 followed with very satisfactory results. 



The leaves being simply laid over the 

 frames without being attached in any 

 way, the intensity of shade may be 

 varied as it is found desirable. Ordi- 

 narily in the plantations I have visited 

 the young cacaos are not pricked, but 

 this method has been put into practice 

 at the Ivoloina station, where it has 

 proved a success, the remaining plants 

 undergoing balling and transplanting 



more easily. Pricking does not appear 

 to be indispensable, and it would seem 

 that people who are desirous of planting 

 large areas with nursery plants could 

 well dispense with it. 



In Trinidad the nurseries for replacing 

 trees are made in a very different 

 manner. If the plantation is not a new 

 one, and the shade trees are mature, 

 spots in which the soil is very compact 

 and which are not covered with heavy 

 brush are chosen under the shelter of 

 these trees. The ground is cleared of 

 weeds, but not ploughed. Farrows 2 

 to 3 centimeters deep and 25 to 30 

 centimeters apart are made, and the 

 seeds deposited in these furrows. The 

 soil is then replaced and smoothed down, 

 and banana leave« are laid above, which 

 remain usually eight or ten days, or 

 until the seeds begin to gei minate, after 

 which they are removed. Evidently this 

 very simple method of establishing a 

 nursery can be employed only where 

 the cacao grows with extreme facility, 

 and would be attended in such a place 

 as Madagascar, for instance, with 

 difficulty. 



After the germination it is necessary 

 to keep the soil clean by constant 

 weeding. In the heavy lands of Surina m 

 the surface of the beds is stirred up by 

 means of little pointed sticks two or 

 three times during the five or six months 

 that the plants remain in the nurseries. 

 This operation, which provides a free 

 circulation of air in the soil, is a good 

 one and should not be neglected. If the 

 season is too dry it will be well to 

 irrigate, or cover with straw, if need 

 arises. 



The length of time that the young 

 cacaos remain in the nurseries varies 

 according to the region. At Jagtlust 

 (Surinam), where all the plantations are 

 made by meatus of trees started in well- 

 kept nurseries, setting out takes place 

 four or five months after sowing. In 

 Madagascar, from observations made at 

 the Ivoloina Experiment Station, it is 

 well to leave the plants in the nursery 

 at least a year. In Trinidad the plants 

 are set out eighteen months after sowing 

 the seed. It is the opinion there that 

 they should not be set out until they 

 begin to form branches, I have seen 

 trees nearly three years old transplanted 

 with very good results. 



The best time for setting out the young 

 plants is certainly the warm and rainy 

 season, but in countries where it rains 

 practically the whole year it is possible 

 to plant at any time, though it is 

 preferable to wait until the vegetation 

 takes a new start, In Tamatave setting 

 out may be done from December to 



