THE FUTURE OF CACAO PLANTING. 



213 



the temperate zone, leaving Trinidad down there in the fire of the heat- 

 belt. No one who is not eccentric in his ideas of physical geography can 

 deny that the conditions obtaining in Grenada and those in Trinidad are, 

 for practical purposes, alike in so far as is concerned the cultivation of 

 cacao ; and, therefore, if cacao can be grown without shade in Grenada, 

 it can be similarly grown in Trinidad, provided the Grenada style of 

 cultivation is followed. Does this argument carry with it the apparent 

 corollary that we, in Trinidad, must chop down our immortelles ? For 

 a variety of solid and substantial reasons I advocate no such vandalism. 

 To quote the words of Mr. Barrett : 



" What then? Cut all the immortelles ... at once? Decidedly not. 

 Cut out dying ones and thin out gradually where your judgment tells 

 you the cacao is not getting enough light to make a healthy growth. 

 But until you have effective wind-belts around and through your cacao, 

 and until you have the cover crop — the live mulch — matter well under 

 control, do not make a bad matter worse by exposing the tender young 

 cacao branches to the whipping and drying action of the winds, nor let 

 their roots be broken and baked by the cracking and drying of the soil 

 during th£ dry season." 



There, in this passage, is stated the essential object of cacao-shade ; 

 to conserve soil-moisture and to act as a wind-protector. It will be seen 

 that if this theory of shade is correct it will revolutionize our present 

 system of cacao cultivation. I am beginning to suspect that our present 

 system of shading is responsible for the excessive shedding of cacao 

 leaves : we shade far too much, with the result that our cacao trees 

 acquire a sort of weather-sensitiveness which perhaps would not afflict 

 them if exposed to more sunlight. 



I am glad that the lecturer, whilst in favour of mixed plantations, 

 has drawn a distinction between mixed and intermixed plantations of 

 cacao and rubber. I suggest that this point is of vital importance. 

 Undoubtedly there is a considerable body of responsible opinion in favour 

 of intermixing cacao and rubber ; but, with much deference, I venture to 

 doubt that this is quite a wise system. We must remember that a plant 

 is a living organism, and as such is a creature of its environment. Now, 

 a cacao tree is a more delicate tree than a rubber tree ; so that when you 

 plant these two trees together, the resulting contest between them must, 

 other things being equal, be in favour of the rubber. I believe in so 

 planting your cacao and rubber that the struggle for life between them 

 shall be freed as much as possible from conditions of severe stress. I 

 regret that exigencies of time forbid me from saying much more on 

 this important subject* 



Mr. Eogelio Chacon, Consul for Costa Rica at Liverpool, said : I 

 notice that Mr. Smith does not believe in interplanting rubber and cacao, 

 but is an advocate for planting more than one crop at a time in order to 

 distribute the risks and minimize the effects of adverse markets. Pre- 

 ference should be given to any tree or crop that contributes nitrogen to 

 the soil. Some of our banana planters in Costa Rica are beginning to 

 plant cacao with their bananas, as it is felt that (the latter being so 

 exhaustive to the soil and unable to be continuously planted on the same 

 spot) it is advisable to have the cacao to follow on. Up to now, unfor- 



