July  i,  1892. | 
v'HF  tropical  agriculturist. 
19. 
Mr  Hart  i fittingly  dedicates  his  Handbook  of 
Caoao  to  Governor  Sir  Wm.  Robinson,  recently 
translated  from  Trinidad  to  Hongkong,  who 
while  in  the  West  India  island,  took  the  most 
zealous  interest  in  all  that  concerned  the  botany 
and  agriculture  of  the  colony,  writing  largely  and 
intelligently  himself  on  the  subjeot  of  cacao. 
Following  the  dedication  we  have  the  general 
contents  of  the  parts  (3)  and  chapters  (12)  into 
which  the  work  is  divided,  indicated,  and  this  is 
followed  by  a most  elaborate  index  of  the  contents 
of  each  of  the  twelve  chapters.  Then  comes  the 
preface  in  which  Mr.  Hart  acknowledges  his 
special  indebtedness  to  Mr.  D.  Morris’s  work  on 
cacao  in  Jamaica,  and  stateB  that  Mr.  Morris,  when 
on  a visit  to  Trinidad,  gave  his  undivided  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  and  visited  the  principal  estates 
in  the  island,  paying  special  attention  to  those 
owned  and  directed  by  Sir  Joseph  Needham,  then 
Chief  Justice  of  Trinidad.  A Chief  Justice  m 
Ceylon  is  prohibited,  a3  is  every  high  civil 
servant  of  the  colony,  from  owning  land  or  directing 
its  oultvation.  The  character  of  the  services  in 
the  occidental  and  oriental  colonies  is  very 
different.  Mr.  Hart  adduces  as  his  qualifications 
for  dealing  exhaustively  with  the  subjeot  of  oacao 
the  faot  that  he  had  “ over  eleven  years’  service 
under  the  Jamaica  Government,  during  the  latter 
part  of  which  I administered  the  Botanical  De- 
partment of  that  island,  and  five  years  in  my 
present  office,  a total  of  over  sixteen  years  West 
India  service,  all  spent  in  Botanical  work.”  From 
the  reports  of  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Prestoe,  Mr.  Hart 
acknowledges  having  drawn  some  valuable  hints.  We 
have  discovered  from  experience  that  only  in  seleot 
localities  of  rioh  free  soil,  warm,  moist  olimate 
and  good  shelter  will  cacao  flourish  in  Ceylon. 
The  produot  is  also  much  more  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  insects  than  are  our  other  great  staples, 
tea  and  coconuts.  Mr.  Hart  states  that  a free 
subsoil  sometimes  compensates  for  a shallow  top- 
soil. Good  forest  is  an  indication  of  good  soil ; and 
Mr.  Hart  favours  shelter  belts  of  the  original  trees 
on  the  land  choseD,  as  well  as  shade  trees  amongst 
the  cacao,  to  the  discussion  of  which  we  shall 
subsequently  come.  We  quote  aB  follows 
An  ideal  spot  on  which  to  found  a cacao  plan- 
tation is  a well  sheltered  vale,  covered  with  large 
trees,  protected  by  mountain  spurs  from  the  prevail- 
ing winds,  well  watered,  and  yet  well  drained,  with 
a good  depth  of  alluvial  soil  on  which  rests  a thick 
deposit  of  decayed  vegetable  matter,  easy  of  access, 
and  in  a district  distant  from  lagoons  or  marshes 
for  the  sake  of  the  proprietor’s  health.  Such  a spot 
in  a climate  similar  to  that  of  Trinidad  could  not 
fail  to  produce  regular  crops  of  the  finest  quality 
of  cacao. 
Elevation  above  sea-level  has  also  to  be  considered 
in  choosing  ground  for  planting  cacao.  The  higher 
the  elevation  the  lower  the  degree  of  temperature 
experienced,  and  the  trees  make  smaller  growth  and 
give  less  in  annual  produce. 
Plantations  existing  at  over  a thousand  feet  above 
sea-level  in  Trinidad  are  few  and  far  between,  and 
cannot  take  rank  among  first-class  estates.  The 
mean  annual  temperature  of  sea-level  is  78°  1 Fall. 
From  this  the  reader  can  draw  the  conclusion, 
which  I believe  to  be  correct,  that  planting  cacao 
at  high  elevations  is  not  a measure  of  economy  or 
good  practice,  unless  in  specially  favoured  positions 
with  regard  to  soil  and  exposure. 
Of  oourse  the  difference  of  latitude  would  justify 
a higher  elevation  in  Ceylon  than  in  Trinidad, 
but  we  believe  few  of  the  oacao  estates  in  this 
island  are  situated  at  elevations  above  1 500  feet, 
the  range  being  from  200  feet  above  the  sea  near 
Polgahawela  to  1,000  up  to  1,500  feet  in  the  valleys 
of  Matale  and  Dumbara.  The  chapter  on  the  selec- 
tion of  seed  and  nurseries  commences  thus  ; — 
Cacao  is  invariably  raised  from  seed  by  the  planter 
The  seed  possesses  but  a short  life,  if  exposed  to 
dry  air ; if  kept  in  a moist  situation,  fermentation 
quickly  sets  in  and  the  seed  becomes  useles.  It  is 
thus  very  difficult  to  transport  cacao  seed  to  distant 
countries,  or  to  keep  it  for  any  length  of  time,  un- 
less placed  under  conditions  favourable  to  germina- 
tion. Cacao  may  be  sent  in  ripe  pods  for  short 
journeys  not  exceeding  8 or  10  days,  if  the  pods  are 
kept  entire  and  without  bruises.  A good  method  of 
transporting  seeds  to  a distance  is  to  plant  them 
in  Wardian  cases  and  allow  them  to  germinate  on 
the  voyage. 
For  nursery  purposes  seed  from  the  beat  quality 
of  cacao  only,  should  be  used,  the  largest  beana 
should  be  taken,  and  care  taken  to  procure  them 
from  well  selected  pods.  It  is  a great  mistake  to 
use  seed  of  inferior  varieties,  taken  from  half-ripe 
pods  and  from  trees  in  indifferent  health.  This  ap- 
lies  to  all  varieties  from  Calabacillo  to  Criollo. 
Some  trees  are  better  bearers  than  others,  some 
produce  finer  pods,  and  the  choice,  for  seed  purposes, 
should  rest  upon  those  which  produce  fine  large 
pods,  good  beans,  and  annually  bears  regular  crops. 
In  the  vegetable  kingdom  as  a rule,  like  produces 
like,  yet  it  is  well  known  that  variations  do  occur, 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  chances  of  procuring  a 
good  class  of  plants  from  seed  are  in  favour  of  the 
course  recommended,  rather  than  by  procuring  seeds 
from  the  refuse  pods  of  a plantation  (as  is  not  seldom 
done)  and  expect  good  results  to  follow. 
Seed  should  also  be  selected  from  trees  situated 
at  a distance  from  inferior  varieties  of  cacao,  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  as  far  as  possible  the  vari- 
ation which  will  naturally  occur,  where  cross  fertili- 
zation is  free  to  take  place ; for  if  poor  varieties 
are  near  to  the  seed  trees,  the  latter  will  be  liable 
to  produce  a variety  having  some  of  the  characters  of 
the  poorer  kinds,  blended  with  their  own. 
Too  much  attention  cannot  be  paid  to  the  selection 
of  a proper  quality  of  sssd,  if  it  is  the  planter’s  aim 
to  improve  the  quallity  and  quantity  of  his  produc- 
tions. 
Again : — 
Nurseries  made  in  a friable  soil,  well  pulverized, 
in  an  open  situation,  the  seeds  well  cleaned  and 
sown  regularly  their  own  diameter  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  carefully  watered  when  required, 
artificially  shaded  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun, 
protected  from  the  trampling  of  animals,  the  ravages 
of  rats  and  mice,  and  carefully  weeded  when  required; 
may  reasonably  be  expected  to  produce  strong  and 
healthy  plants.  With  those  who  perfer  raising 
plants  in  boxes — a very  handy  and  economical 
method  all  things  considered — the  best  method  to 
employ  would  be  to  procure  well  rotted  and  sifted 
Coconut  refuse  and  to  sow  the  seeds  regularly, 
about  § inch  below  the  surface,  the  boxes  being  made 
about  six  inches  in  depth  and  well  drained.  If  Coco- 
nut refuse  is  not  to  hand,  a suitable  substitute  may 
be  found  in  well  decomposed  leaf  mould.  Immedi- 
ately the  plants  have  developed  their  first  pair  of 
leaves,  they  may  be  potted  or  transferred  to  nursery 
beds — in  both  cases, shading  them  until  well-establishedo 
If  transferred  to  beds,  the  plants  should  be  put  out, 
about  twelve  inches  apart  each  way — taking  especial 
care  not  to  place  the  plant  too  low  in  the  ground.  More 
plants  die  from  this  cause  than  from  any  other,  both 
in  nursery  and  in  the  field.  No  plant  whatever, 
whether  Cacao  or  any  other,  should  ever  be  placed 
in  the  ground  lower  than  the  position  in  which  it 
stood  in  the  soil  as  a seedling.  Many  people  tell  us  a 
great  deal  about  “tap-root.”  Personally  I have  no 
reverence  whatever  for  even  the  name  of  “ tap-root,” 
but  at  the  same  time  I have  every  respect  for  the 
principle  which  has  led  to  the  great  respect  paid  to 
the  “ tap-root,”  by  the  greater  number  of  West  Indian 
planters,  and  this  principle  is,  that  even  the  slightest 
damage  cannot  occur  to  any  root  without  a loss  to 
the  plant  with  which  it  is  connected 
As  regardB  planting,  the  opinion  in  Trinidad  as  in 
Ceylon  is  in  favour  of  nursery  plants  instead  of 
seeds  “ planted  at  stake.”  There  is  much  in  the 
chapter  on  planting  to  quote  which  in  Ceylon 
