Edible Products. 



74 



During recent years the cultivation of shade trees for cacao has also 

 undergone considerable change, and whereas the original plantations contained 

 mixed species of forest types, or a preponderance of Erythrina umbrosa, they are 

 now giving way to Hevea brasiliensis, Erythrina lithosperma, Castilloa elastica 

 etc.; furthermore, the results of experiments indicate that the shade of Erythrina 

 lithosperma need not be permanent throughout the whole year, but may be treated 

 so as to form a shade of varying intensity according to the seasons. 



In all the species mentioned above there is observable one important and 

 common agreement, i.e., they all change their foliage annually and return large 

 quantities of organic matter, in the form of leaves, to the soil. Methods of manur- 

 ing have also changed, to some extent, during the period under consideration, and 

 the effect of the change in modes of cultivation can be shown to affect the quantity 

 or quality of the article produced. The Ceylon methods of cultivation, particularly 

 with regard to pruning, weeding, and manuring, are almost unique, and the 

 differences observable in Surinam, Trinidad, Samoa, Cameroon, etc., provide 

 interesting material for our consideration. 



In Ceylon the methods of fermenting, washing, and curing are often quite 

 different and sometimes quite in contradiction to those of other countries, and the 

 effect of these processes on the quality of the article is only too fully recognised. 

 In the opinion of many, the condition of the trees, whether they are free or suffering 

 from disease, is of importance in determining quality and quantity. 



It is therefore obvious that there are several factors which need to be 

 considered in connection with the present and past condition of the cacao industry 

 in Ceylon. 



The factor which is perhaps more responsible for the range in value of the 

 cured beans than any other is the variety of cacao selected, and with this we will deal, 



(To be continued.) 



COFFEE CULTIVATION IN BRAZIL. 



The coffee planters of Southern India, wishing to know exactly how 

 their industry stood in relation to that of Brazil, the Government of India in 

 April, 1905, at the instance of the Government of Madras, sent a Despatch to 

 the India Office asking for information regarding the Brazilian coffee industry. 

 Very detailed questions were asked regarding labour and wages, cultivation, 

 area, soil and forests ; the system of cultivation ; the type of trees ; the raising 

 of bye-products, shade on estates, abandonment of old and opening up of new 

 estates, etc. ; crops and the curing of coffee ; diseases, and pests ; finance, and 

 cost of production ; climate, and physical features of the coffee districts ; 

 transport and duties. This Despatch was transferred through the Foreign Office 

 to the British Minister in Brazil, who distributed the lists of questions to the 

 various Consuls, in order that they might make personal enquiry into the subject. 

 The answers to these questions have now been collected and issued as a white 

 paper by the India Office. 



Transmitting the replies from the Consuls, the British Minister in Brazil, 

 in his Despatch dated the 6th February, 1906, says : — 



" The difficulty of obtaining trustworthy information of a statistical nature 

 in this country is sufficiently recognised to render all explanation of the inability 

 to furnish full and exhaustive reports from the various Consular districts 

 unnecessary. The enormous area of the country, the difficulties of communica- 

 tion and the expense of travelling preclude the possibility of acquiring minute 

 information which could only be obtained by a personal visit to the numerous 

 coffee planters scattered throughout a large portion of Brazil, except by experts 

 specially appointed for the purpose, without other occupations to attend to and 

 with considerable funds at their disposal for travelling purposes." 



