188 



The Stipplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



10,000,000 COCOA TREKS IN BEARING. 



Three varieties of cocoa are grown in Bahia, 

 being known to the local planters as 'cacao 

 commun,' 'cacao Para' and 'cacao Maranhao' 

 respectively. The three varieties are distin- 

 guished chiefly by differences in the size and 

 shape of their respective pods, and by diffe- 

 rences in the texture of the rind of the pods. In 

 the matter of the average yield per tree, and of 

 quality of bean, there would seem to be little to 

 choose between the three varieties of tree in 

 question. Indeed, all three kinds are frequently 

 to be seen growing indiscriminately mingled 

 upon the same plantation. 



THE YIELD PER TREE, 



in the case of mature trees, is taken to 

 average 2\ to 3 kilos, of dried beans annually. 

 That this" average could be substantially in- 

 creased by the bestowal of a little intelligent 

 care upon the trees admits of no doubt, since 

 the product of one carefully cultivated planta- 

 tion averages over 6 kilos, of dried beans per 

 tree per season, and on an estate in Belmonte dis- 

 trict there are trees that have yielded 15 kilos, 

 of dried boans during a season. Experimentshave 

 been carried out in Bahia during the past few 

 yeais in connection with the drying of cocoa by 

 artificial heat. The results obtained from this 

 system have been very encouraging. It has been 

 found that the oven system dries the beans more 

 thoroughly than does exposure to the sun, and 

 that the cocoa thus 



ARTIFICIALLY DRIED— LOCALLY KNOWN AS 

 "ESTUFA" COCOA— FETCHES HIGHER PRICES 



in the Bahia market than does the sun-dried 

 article, by reason of its superior and more reg- 

 ular colour. The system, however, has been 

 adopted to only a very limited extent, owing to 

 the comparatively heavy cost entailed in the 

 construction of suitable "estufas ; ' or stoves. 

 At the present time there do not exist, probably, 

 more than a dozen such stoves all told through- 

 out the entiie cocoa-growing area, and these are 

 confined to the plantations of certain amongst 

 the wealthier cultivators in the Ilheos and 

 Belmonte districts. 



Brazil, as a whole furnishes at the present 

 time something over 



ONE-FIFTH OF THE WORLD'S SUPPLY 



of cocoa. Of that proportion the State of 

 Bahia contributes over 80 per cent.; hence it 

 will be seen that the State occupies a position 

 of considerable importance in the cocoa 

 market. The output of cocoa in the State 

 of Bahia has increased from 14,000 metric tons 

 in 1901-2 to 25 182 metric tons in 1907 -8, and 

 27,000 metric tons (estimated) in 1908-9.* 



The increase of output has been especially 

 marked during the past three years, and there 

 is every reason to believe that such rate of in- 

 crease will be maintained in the future. The 

 area of land in the State suitable for the cultiva- 

 tion of cocoa is practically unlimited in extent, 

 and the conditions existing there are so favour- 

 able for the growth of the cocoa treo that its cul- 

 tivation entails upon the planter but a minimum 

 of labour and trouble. The planters are, however, 



* The exports of cocoa from Bahia in 1907 were as fol- 

 lows :— United States of America 6,102,463 kilogs., Ger- 

 many 6,167,180 kilogs, France 4,778,732 kilogs., United 

 Kingdom '2,373,225 kilogs., and 1,290,168 kilogs. to other 

 countries. 



HEAVILY HANDICAPPED BY LACK OF FACILITIES 

 FOR TRANSPORTING 



their product to market. Throughout 

 the entiro cocoa-producing area of Bahia 

 there does not exist so much as one kilometre of 

 railway in operation, and the roads throughout 

 the area in question are, a? a rule, exceedingly 

 bad. The prepared cocoa has to be conveyed 

 upon mule back from the district in which it has 

 been producod to some point upon the nearest 

 river system, where such river happens to be 

 navigable. There the cocoa is embarked in 

 canoes for conveyance to the mouth of the river, 

 whence it is shipped, mostly in native sailing 

 craft, to the city of Bahia, which is the market 

 for all cocoa produced in the State. These 

 methods of transport are both tedious and un- 

 duly costly: a cocoa planter has to pay the 

 equivalent of something like 4s. per bag (of 60 

 kilos.) for transport from his plantations to the 

 capital. Moreover, the 



EXPOSURE AND ROUGH HANDLING 



to which the cocoa is necessarily sub- 

 jected en route have the effect of depreciating 

 the quality of the article to an extent which 

 seriously lessens its market value. A railway has 

 been projected, to extend from the port of Ilheos 

 to Tabocas, via Armada, a total distance of 

 some 50 kilometres. Work on this line has been 

 begun, and it is expected that the section of the 

 line to Armada, a distance of some 25 kilo- 

 metres, will be completed within a period of 

 twelve months from the present time, and that 

 the entire line to Tabocas will be completed 

 within two years. This line, which is being 

 built by private enterprise, is merely a local 

 affair, intended to benefit the cocoa planters of 

 a certain area, and it will be of no assistance 

 to the planters of the State as a body. 



WHAT IS NEEDED 



for the due development of the cocoa industry 

 of the State is the construction of an adequate 

 railway system which will connect the most im- 

 portant of the cocoa-producing districts with 

 one or other of the harbours which exist along 

 the coast between 13° and 17° S. H.M. Consul is 

 informed that the State Government would be 

 willing to grant the necessary concession, and 

 furthermore to assist the project with a sub- 

 stantial subsidy for each kilometre of railway 

 completed, and he is of opinion that the project 

 of building the suggested railway system is one 

 which merits careful attention upon the part of 

 British capitalists interested in railway con- 

 struction. A few 



PHOTOGRAPHS, 



illustrating some of the various phases of the 

 cocoa industry, have been forwarded by the 

 Consul, and are at the Commercial Intelligence 

 Branch of the Board of Trade, 73, Basinghall 

 Street, London, E.C.— Board of Trade Journal, 

 April 1. 



SOAP FROM COCOA PODS. 

 In the course of his memorandum on the 

 cocoa industry of Bahia, Brazil, H.M. Consul at 

 Bahia remarks that the cocoa pods, when 

 fresh, can be utilised, in combination with wood 

 ash, for the manufacture of a species of soap. 

 —Board of Trade Journal, April 1. 



