Edible Products. 4 



ones. In the seed itself there is great 

 variation in size, colour, flavour, and 

 number of seeds to a pod, 



These variations, left to themselves, 

 are (following the accepted doctrines of 

 our best botanists) sure to tend toward 

 deterioration ; but properly guided they 

 afford the means of not only maintaining 

 a standard but of improving that 

 standard in any desired direction. 



At the present time Trinidad cacao 

 is an interminable mixture of various 

 types near to, and far from, the original 

 strains. The better types prevail where 

 a preponderance of the better kinds 

 were first planted, and the poorer types 

 in those districts where numbers of in- 

 ferior strains are present. 



It would appear that there is little 

 cacao true to the original types of old 

 authors, and although the various 

 strains can be recognized, it is much 

 more easy to notice the variation that 

 has occurred, even during the last two 

 decades. Trinidad Oriollo can still be 

 recognized generally, but the bottle 

 neck of that variety is now to be seen 

 plainly marked in varieties where the 

 Forastero strain predominates. The 

 Venezuelan Criollo may be seen ap- 

 parently true in form and colour with 

 the accepted type, but on examination 

 shows that the plants may have coloured 

 instead of white beans, 



I suggested in 1897, that it was urgently 

 necessary when raising from seed, to be 

 extremely careful in selecting from the 

 very best trees, but I am now quite con- 

 vinced that this method, while being 

 better than no selection at all, is quite in- 

 sufficient to secure the highest class of 

 produce, and that vegetative production 

 by budding or grafting must be adopted 

 if cacao is to be improved along scienti- 

 fic lines. In 1897, it was not certain 

 • that budding or grafting was practi- 

 cable with cacao, but it has since been 

 proved that they may easily be per- 

 formed. Recently I prepared an article 

 on cacao improvement that was pub- 

 lished in the Trinidad Bulletin, Vol. 

 VII., p. 183. In this was described in 

 detail the method necessary for the 

 improvement of plantations. 



The principle points are (1) the entire 

 abandonment of propagation from seed 

 except for the purpose of raising new 

 and improved varieties, (2) improvement 

 by the aid of hybridization or seminal 

 variation, (3) the selection of standard 

 varieties from present fields showing 

 desired characters in order to propagate 

 from them by grafting or buddings and 

 (4) the characters to be used in making 



[January, 1909. 



the selection should be high vitality, 

 good bearing qualities, good habit and 

 form, and a high quality of produce. 



At the Conference held at Trinidad in 

 1905, I presented a paper on the special 

 qualities of plants. In it I presented 

 arguments to show that special qualities 

 are inherent in each and every indivi- 

 dual plant, which remain constant 

 through its life and may be propagated 

 indefinitely for centuries ; and I am more 

 than ever confident that if these views 

 are brought into practice in the working 

 economy of cacao estates, a very great 

 improvement in the quantity and 

 quality of the produce obtained would 

 rapidly follow. One tree in the Botan- 

 nical Department, Trinidad, produced 

 in 1907, 15 lb. 9 oz. of marketable cacao, 

 and it would appear desirable that such 

 a tree should be among the selected 

 varieties to be reproduced by vegetative 

 reproduction. 



In cacao plantations there are trees of 

 a high class, and also many of an inferior 

 type. The latter, being as a rule ot 

 greater vegetative vigour, tend to domi- 

 nate, and gradually may push out the 

 better strains. In the following gener- 

 ations, when again reproduced by seed, 

 deterioration necessarily occurs and a 

 large number of interbred varieties is 

 produced. 



It is satisfactory, however, to note 

 that not a few planters are alive to this 

 danger of deterioration in quality, and 

 have imported of the best strains 

 from the mainland of South America. 

 Even these show considerable variation. 

 These importations, nevertheless, are of 

 superior quality, and they must have an 

 effect, though a limited one, in improving 

 the standard quality of Trinidad cacao. 

 The improvement can only be a tran- 

 sient one, as the inferior kinds, being 

 the more vigorous, and in the majority, 

 will again, in time, dominate the better 

 qualities. If, however, selections are 

 made of" the most distinct forms, and 

 these are propagated solely by vegeta- 

 tive reproduction, the improvement 

 would most assuredly be a permanent 

 one, and when once standard and 

 selected kinds are propagated by this 

 method alone, and not by seed, deteri- 

 oration would cease, and no change in 

 the quality of produce could occur, 

 except that induced by unfavourable 

 weather, accidents during curing, or by 

 unfavourable situations. 



Trinidad cacao has obtained a name 

 for certain good qualities, but manu- 

 facturers cannot use Trinidad cacao 

 alone. They require other and often 

 higher-priced qualities to mix with it 



