THE FUTURE OF CACAO PLANTING. 



215 



of the cacao even if you had to cut it out after the twelfth year. This is 

 well worthy of consideration, as the cost of planting and upkeep thus 

 becomes very trifling. 



Turning to shade, I think that a little light shade is beneficial to the 

 cacao plants in dry and exposed situations, but it should never be allowed 

 to become so thick as to exclude sunlight. It is a very simple matter, 

 when pruning the cacao trees, to thin out some of the branches of the 

 shade trees, and if this is done I think that you would find that the yield 

 of cacao would considerably increase. Take the yield of cacao at the 

 experimental station, Aburi, for example. The last returns gave H lb. 

 per tree. These trees are about fifteen years old, and are growing on 

 a hill-top 1500 feet above sea level, in exceedingly poor, gravelly soil, 

 with a rainfall of 47 inches per annum. These trees are lightly shaded 

 with the Saman, or rain tree (Pithecolobium Saman), planted 50 feet 

 apart, and the branches of which are annually thinned out. 



During the rainy season the land between the rows of cacao trees is 

 lightly forked and cow-peas (Vigna) planted. These, together with the 

 cuttings from the shade trees, and the leaves which fall from the cacao, 

 serve as a mulch during the Harmattan or dry season. I might mention 

 in passing that these trees look very healthy, whilst trees in the near 

 vicinity which received no cultivation are miserable, weedy specimens, 

 and I doubt if they yield 1 lb. of cacao per tree, showing the advantage 

 of mulching, judicious shading, and a little cultivation. I would certainly 

 not advise cultivating ground-nuts as a leguminous crop under cacao, 

 unless the soil happens to be of a light, sandy nature. Pigeon-peas 

 (Cajamis indicus) or American cow-peas will be found far more valuable 

 from a manurial point of view. 



In summing up, I consider that the quantity of shade entirely depends 

 upon the situation. In the moist districts shade is unnecessary and 

 tends to increase fungus and insect pests, but in exposed, dry situations 

 a light shade is beneficial. Unless the trees are in a healthy state, they 

 cannot expect to survive the attacks of fungi and insect pests, and they 

 can only be kept in a healthy state by good drainage and cultivation. 

 Although the output of cacao from the Gold Coast has made such rapid 

 strides during the last ten years, it will come as a surprise to you to 

 know that probably not more than 25 per cent, of the plants grown 

 on the Gold Coast reach maturity; this is due to raising plants from 

 immature and diseased beans, faulty drainage, and lack of cultivation. 

 The few native estates that are properly cultivated give excellent returns 

 and well repay the owners for the extra care and money spent on their 

 cultivation. I might mention that all trees on the Gold Coast are planted 

 triangularly. Were the whole of the area under cacao on the Gold Coast 

 tended on these lines, our output would have been nearly 80,000,000 lb. 

 instead of only 20,000,000 lb. last year. 



The pruning set adopted by Mr. Malins Smith is very good, and 

 should be on every estate. It is a great pity that the manufacturers of 

 pruning implements and spraying machines do not advertise more in the 

 tropical papers. If they did they would not only increase their output 

 but would help the planters to get the right implements. The cutlasses 

 as used on the Gold Coast are most unsatisfactory implement* for 



