i8 
THF.  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[July  i,  1892' 
lateral  growth.  While  holding  that  the  finest  cacao 
is  produced  by  a variety  known  as  Criollo,  Mr. 
Hart  states  that  Mr.  D.  Morris  appeared  to  be  of 
opinion  that  they  had  no  longer  the  true  Criollo 
variety  in  Trinidad,  while  Messrs.  Sinclair  and 
Ross,  when  they  visited  the  West  Indian  island, 
informed  Mr.  Hart  that  the  cacao  which  fetches 
the  highest  prices  in  Ceylon  was  different  to  any- 
thing they  had  seen  in  Trinindad.  At  the  risk  of 
repetition,  we  quote  as  follows  : — 
Dr.  Trimen  of  Ceylon,  in  his  annual  Report  for 
1890,  falls  into  the  error  of  interpreting  the  word 
“Criollo”  as  being  synonymous  with  “wild.” 
It  is  well-known,  however,  that  the  word  is  never 
used  in  this  sense  in  the  West  Indies,  the  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  word  “ Creole  ” being — one  born  in 
a country  or  one  belonging  to  a country.  With  Euro- 
pean Anglicans  the  word  “ Creole”  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  reference  to  a mixture  of  races,  but 
it  is  not  used  in  that  sense  here. 
For  instance,  a child  born  of  white  parents  in  any 
West  Indian  Island,  or  even  on  the  mainland  of 
Central  and  South  America,  is  a “ Creole,”  and  just 
as^much  so  as  a black  or  coloured  child  would  be.  In 
fact,  “Creole”  would  be  better  translated  as“  native” 
than  as  “ wild  ” or  coloured,  a black  or  coloured  child 
being  just  as  much  a Creole  as  a white  one  or  a 
mulatto.  An  English  clergyman  lately  travelling  in 
Trinidad  was  much  surprised  to  find  that  the  word 
Creole  was  used  in  this  sense  here,  and  even  when  shown 
that  the  use  of  the  word  in  his  sense  would  often 
subject  him  to  ridicule,  still  he  said  he  was  not  in- 
clined to  allow  that  the  West  Indian  interpretation 
was  right,  but  felt  inclined  to  follow  his  own.  This 
gentleman  was  “ writing  a book,”  and  possibly  we 
may  hear  more  of  his  conservatism  later  on. 
It  is  important  that  the  sense  in  which  the  word 
“ Creole  ” is  used  should  be  fully  understood  as  we 
have  “Criollo”  as  our  first  variety  of  Cacao. 
If  we  interpret  the  words  criollo  cacao  as  native 
cacao,  and  Forastero  as  foreign  cacao,  and  Calabacillo 
cacao  as  calabash  cacao,  we  shall  have  a better  de- 
finition of  terms,  and  prevent  further  misapplication 
of  the  word  “Criollo.”  The  Calabacillo  is  so  named 
from  its  fruits  resembling  those  of  the  calabash 
tree  (Crescentia  cujete,  L.) 
Dr.  Trimen  (Annual  Report  1890)  remarks  that 
these  names  appear  to  have  had  their  origin  in 
Trinidad,  and  doubts  whether  the  first  or  Creole  was 
“ever  really  a native  plant  there.”  The  misunder- 
standing of  the  word  Creole  probably  leads  him  to 
this  conclusion,  for  how  could  it  be  Native  or  Creole 
(Criollo)  if  imported  into  Trinidad,  unless'  its  name 
was  imported  from  South  America  with  it,  and  if  so 
it  should  be  known  as  the  Criollo  of  South  America 
and  not  simply  Criollo.  The  word  Forastero  is  also 
applied  on  the  Main  to  the  same  cacao  as  in  Trinidad, 
for  _ they  term  it  “ Trinitario  ” in  contradistinction  to 
their  own  Criollo,  and  certainly  a plant  of  Trinidad 
would  be  Forastero  or  foreign  in  Venezuela  or  any 
other  part  of  Central  America,  and  therefore 
their  Forastero  being  a foreign  cacao  and  sup- 
posed to  have  its  origin  in  Trinidad  would  properly 
be  the  Criollo  of  Trinidad  if  the  word  was  used  in 
the  correct  sense. 
It  may  be  possible,  however,  that  Criollo  cacao  is  a 
native  of  both  countries,  and  that  one  has  as 
good  claim  to  it  as  another,  but  the  balance  of  pro- 
bability appears  to  be  that  its  origin  can  be  rightly 
traced  to  South  America  as  indicated  by  Dr.  Trimen, 
but  there  at  present  appears  no  ground  of  proof  in 
support  of  the  proposition. 
Dr.  Trimen  also  repudiates  the  authenticity  of 
the  word  Criollo  as  attached  to  plants  sent  him  from 
the  Trinidad  Botanic  Gardens,  and  turns  them  into 
Forastero  apparently  on  account  of  their  being  dis- 
similar to  “ the  Old  Ceylon  Red  cacao,  also  called 
Caracas  ” (Report  for  1890),  but  he  allows  a little 
later , that  the  Forastero  sent  from  Trinidad  to  Cey- 
lon is  in  the  opinion  of  a large  grower  gradually 
changing  its  character  and  “becoming  more  like 
the  Old  Ceylon  Red,”  or  in  other  words,  is  revert- 
ing to  its  original  type  through  the  influence  of  the 
soil  and  climate  in  which  it  grows. 
If  therefore  it  is  possible  for  Forastero  to  revert 
into  the  Caracas  or  Criollo,  this  circumstance  goe3 
very  far  to  sustain  the  supposition  that  Forastero  is 
merely  a descendant  of  Criollo  or  that  Criollo  is 
a descendant  of  Forastero  : the  change  being 
brought  about  by  circumstances  of  soil  and 
climate  in  each  case.  That  such  a change  is 
quite  possible  and  very  probable,  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  our  best  scientific  botanists  do  not 
find  sufficient  distinctive  characters  (notwithstand- 
ing the  differences  in  the  form,  size  and  colour  of 
fruit,  leaf  and  tree)  to  make  more  than  one  species 
of  all  our  cultivated  varieties;  which  as  Dr.  Trimen 
truly  says,  probably  trace  their  origin  to  a common 
wild  parent. 
Those  who  believe  in  the  ultimate  resuscitation 
of  the  Arabian  coffee  enterprise  in  Ceylon  may 
derive  encouragement  from  the  history  of  cacao  in 
Trinidad.  Dr.  de  Verteuil  in  his  work  on  the  island 
states  that  from  its  first  settlement  it  exported 
cacao.  In  1727,  however,  a terrible  epidemic  broke 
out,  which  resulted  in  the  complete  ruin  of  the 
plantations. 
“ Thirty  years  later,  some  Aragonese  Capuchin 
Father  was  successful  in  their  attempt  to  review 
the  culture  of  Cacao  in  the  Island.  They  imported 
from  the  continent  a new  species  (variety  J.  H.  H.) 
the  Cacao  Forastero  which,  though  giving  a produce 
of  inferior  quality  was  nevertheless  promptly  pro- 
pagated as  being  hardier,  that  is  the  Cacao  at  pre- 
sent cultivated  in  the  Island.” 
In  Jamaica,  rJso,  cacao  was,  during  the  last  cen- 
tury visited  by  a “ blast  ” or  b ight,  which  led  to 
its  destruction,  and  yet  the  enterprise  was 
subsequently  revived  with  success.  Mr.  Hart 
states  : — 
The  Calabacillo,  or  that  class  which  gives  small, 
rounded  and  smooth  pods  and  flat  beans,  having  a 
bitter  taste,  is  the  lowes  type  of  cacao  that  is  grown, 
and  requires  the  greatest  amount  of  skill  during 
treatment  to  bring  it  into  marketable  form,  the 
process  of  fermenting  it,  taking  more  than  double 
the  time  required  for  Criollo.  The  tree  however  is 
the  strongest  grower  and  the  hardiest  of  all  the 
varieties,  and  will  thrive  on  poorer  lands  and  on  lands 
on  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  grow  the  finer 
kinds. 
Trees  of  the  Forastero  type  are  also  strong  growers, 
and  its  varieties  are  suitable  for  most  lands  in  which  cacao 
can  reasonably  be  expected  to  thrive.  It  approaches 
the  Calabacillo  type  by  the  Amelonado  variety,  both 
red  and  yellow,  and  certainly  stands  as  a large  in- 
termediate and  somewhat  variable  type  between 
Criollo  and  Calabacillo.  In  general  the  Foras- 
tero type  has  a thick  skin.  It  approaches  the 
Criollo  in  form,  or  runs  into  Criollo  by  its 
variety  Cundeamor  verugosa.  red  and  yellow,  but  trees 
may  be  found  bearing  pods  which  are  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  Criollo  on  the  one  side  and 
the  Calabacillo  on  the  other,  thus  showing  the  breadth 
of  form  covered  by  this  kind. 
It  becomes  a question,  therefore,  for  the  planter 
to  ascertain  the  character  of  his  land  with  as  much 
accuracy  as  possible  before  deciding  what  variety  of 
cacao  he  will  plant.  If  very  poor  he  can  rely  upon 
Calabacillo  only.  If  from  moderately  good  to  fairly 
rich,  he  should  rely  upon  the  varieties  of  the  Foras- 
tero type,  but  if  rich  and  lasting  ground,  only  the 
best  types  of  Criollo  should  be  planted. 
The  generality  of  plantations  are  however  of  so 
mixed  a character  that  it  is  difficult  to  separate  one 
kind  from  another,  though  there  cannot  be  any  doubt 
that  it  would  more  than  pay  for  any  extra  trouble 
were  the  system  of  planting  each  type  in  separate 
fields  faithfully  carried  out. 
Many  waiters  agree  that  the  flavour  of  cacao  is 
dependent  upon  the  soil,  and  in  this  they  are  prob- 
ably correct,  but  much  must  also  depend  upon  the 
surrounding  conditions,  viz. : moisture,  exposure,  and 
temperature,  in  their  respective  order,  and  perhaps 
more  is  to  be  attributed  to  these  than  to  the  soil, 
although  all  of  them,  it  is  freely  admitted,  may  have 
a direct  influence  on  flavour  and  quality. 
