THE FUTURE OF CACAO PLANTING-. 



211 



plant-food, and of improving the mechanical condition of the soil ; but 

 when this is not possible, owing to the limited supply of natural manures, 

 the planter should not refrain from manuring with artificial manures, as 

 these are able to replace the natural manures as far as plant-food is 

 concerned. 



In selecting suitable artificial manures the planter has to bear in mind 

 that the cacao tree produces leaves, flowers, and fruit throughout every 

 month of the year, and that it therefore requires a supply of fertilizing 

 ingredients which will not be absorbed within a few weeks of application, 

 but which will form a lasting source of plant-food during the whole year. 

 It is therefore advisable not to use highly soluble manures at all, or to 

 use them only in smaller quantities at certain intervals. If, for instance, 

 the whole amount of fertilizing ingredients is supplied by means of 

 highly soluble manures in one application, there is, besides a loss of plant- 

 food by drainage and possible conversion of the same into unavailable 

 forms, a certain danger that the cacao tree will absorb the fertilizing 

 ingredients too freely, and become thereby overfed and weakened. As, 

 however, most cacao planters do not resort to divided applications, the 

 following suggestions for manuring advise as, far as possible, only such 

 artificial manures as may be applied in one application without fear that 

 loss of plant-food will occur, or that abnormal absorption of plant-food 

 will take place. 



On estates which regularly apply farmyard manure or compost to the 

 plantations it will probably only be necessary to supplement the annual 

 dressing by one or two hundredweight of basic slag to the acre, in order to 

 make good the deficiency of phosphoric acid in the natural manures. If, 

 however, farmyard manure or compost cannot be given annually, then 

 a complete manuring consisting of about 4 cwt. basic slag, 1 cwt. sulphate 

 of potash, and 1 cwt. sulphate of ammonia, may be used in the intervening 

 years ; but if it is possible to procure the amount of nitrogen supplied by 

 the 1 cwt. sulphate of ammonia by means of green manuring instead, this 

 source is preferable. Planters who do not use farmyard manure or 

 compost, but who annually fork in the leaves shed by the cacao, shade, 

 and wind-belt trees, will likewise be well advised to apply a complete 

 manuring consisting of about 5 to 6 cwt. basic slag, 1 to 1^ cwt. sulphate 

 of potash, and 1 cwt. sulphate of ammonia to the acre per annum. If, 

 however, the additional trees belong to the leguminous family, the amount 

 of nitrogen recommended may be reduced to \ cwt. sulphate of ammonia, 

 whereas the quantities of basic slag and sulphate of potash may be 

 increased by half the amount suggested, in order to stimulate the legu- 

 minous trees to absorb the atmospheric nitrogen more freely. 



The above quantities of manures would be suitable for about six-year- 

 old plantations, but they should be decreased for younger plantations and 

 increased for older plantations. 



As regards time of application, the farmyard manure, basic slag and 

 potash should be applied before the heavy rains set in, and forked into 

 the ground without delay; the sulphate of ammonia is best applied at 

 the end of the rainy season. If, however, the sulphate of ammonia is 

 applied at the same time as the basic slag, it must be borne in mind that 

 these two manures should not be mixed together before application, as 



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