THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. [Oct. 1, 1900. 
Never pull or tear the pod of by hand. If you do, 
you injure the tree, and ic will not bear from thu 
same place next year. It is better not to break or 
open the pods amongst the Cacao trees, nor allov/ 
open shells to lie about. The shells should be buried 
as soon as possible. They will thus enrich the laud 
and probably prevent disease from spreading in the 
locality. 
CUHING CACAO. 
The following brief account is taken from " Notes 
on Curing Cacao for Small Settlers " prepared by Mr. 
W. Oradwiok, and published in the Jamaica Bulletin 
1896, p. 15 :— 
The best vessel in which a small cultivator can 
ferment Cacao is an ordinary flour barrel. To prepare 
this for the reception of cacao beans, lirat bore 
about a dozen holes, each half an inch in diameter, 
in the bottom of the barrel, then place about ten 
inches of banana trash in the bottom of the barrel. 
Line the sides also thickly with trash, and have a 
sufficient quantity on hand to cover the beans when 
placed in the barrel. When the barrel is ready 
break the whole of the pods and place the beans 
in the barrel, covering with the banana trash. The 
beans must be left to ferment for two days, then 
remove one-third of the beans and lay them in a 
heap on the floor and mix them thoroughly. Remove 
the balance of the beans and mix them also, but 
do not put the two heaps together. After placing 
fresh trash in the barrel, put the beans which were 
at the top back into the bottom of the barrel and 
those which were at the bottom, place at the top. 
Cover with trash in the same way as before and 
leave for two more days, when the beaus should be 
treated in exactly the same way as before. They 
should then be left for two more days, when they 
are to be taken out and washed thoroughly. On the 
day the beans are finally removed from the barrel 
the work should be commenced very early in the 
morning, so as to get all the sun possible on the 
first day, for the beans mildew very quickly. They 
should be washed immediately they are taken out 
of the barrel as this helps to keep them plump. 
The proper amount of Cacao to ferment in one 
barrel is the quantity of beans obtained from 1,000 
ordinary sized pods. If many more than this number 
are put into one barrel, the fermentation is too great 
and the beans turn black. 
If a less quantity, say below 700 pods, are to be 
fermented, the green trash and more of it must be 
used, and a weight not exceeding 28 lb. placed on 
the top, which helps the fermentation. 
When the Cacao is being dried, it is not advisable 
to expose it after the first two days to the extreme 
heat of the mid-day sun ; it is better to take it in 
about 9 o'clock, and then put it out again between 
three and four o'clock. 
Disease. — If any pods are observed which have 
commenced to become black or rotten, either at the 
top or the bottom, they should at once be carefully 
collected and destroyed. It has been found that 
this rotting is caused by a highly infectious disease, 
and that it is liable to spread if rotten shells are 
left on the field, or rotten pods allowed to remain 
on the trees. 
II, SHORT NOTES ON OTHER PLANTS. 
Orange. — The cultivation of the orange is very 
simple, for when once the plants are fairly in growth, 
all that is necessary is to keep them free from weeds 
and well watered. The orange delights in alluvial 
soil, but, if well watered and manured, will thrive 
almost anywhere. The plants should be placed about 
25 feet apart in well-prepared sites. The future 
positions of the plants having been marked off at 
the required distances, holes should be dug out about 
18 inches deep and 2 feet wide. . The soil, which 
has been taken out of the holes, when freed from 
foots '^^^ atones, should fce returned to them, but, 
if of a poor nature, should be enriched with good 
rotten manure. When the soil thus treated has 
settled down, one plant should bo placed in the 
centre of each site and well watered. They will 
bear fruit in about t'> years. Whenever possible 
"grafted" or "budded" trees should be planted iu 
preference to trees raised from aeeds. Grafted or 
budded trees bcir in 3 or 1 years, and they can 
be depended upon to produce first-class fruit. 
SuADDocKs ANJ> GttAVE I^'huit. — Tliose require the 
same treatment as oranges. 
Ma.ngo. — The mango thrives best in rich, deep, well- 
drained soil, and should be given a rather dry, open 
situation. The ]j!auts should be carefully set, at not 
less th;m ;!0 feut apart, in holes prepared iu the 
same way as recommended for the orange. The 
only pruning they require is the cutting out of weak 
and straggling growth. The size and flavour of the 
fruit are much improved by high cultivation. The 
best Jsinds only should be planted. Seedlings cannot 
be relied upon to come true from the parent, and, 
accordingly, it is better to pay more for a known 
grafted variety, such as Julie,'" " IMerd" or 
Diriiie," than to grow a tree from seed, only to 
find after years of waiting that it produces fruit of 
a worthless character. Mangoes generally bear fruit 
in about 5 or 6 years. These remarks concerning 
seedlings apply to other fruits as well as to the mango 
Star Apple.— Ti;is tree thrives under the same 
conditions as the mango, and should be given the 
same amount of room. 
Bread Fp.uit. — As this tree attains to a large size, 
the plants should be placed 40 or 50 feet apart, in 
rich, well-drained soil, care being taken not to injure 
the roots or leaves. The sites should be prepared 
in the same way as recommended for the other 
fruits. They will probably bear in 4 or 5 years. 
I'iNE Apple. — The pine apple succeeds best if culti- 
vated in a well-drained, rich, fibrous, loamy soil, of 
such a nature that it will not become compact by 
frequent waterings. The more light and air the pine- 
apple gets, the better it will thrive, and, therefore, 
it is advisable that the plants should be set 3 feet 
apart every way. The ground, after being well dug 
all over, should be thrown up into low ridges, three 
feet apart, and the suckers (a or 4 of the bottom 
leaves having been previously taken off each, so as 
to enable them to throw out roots more freely,) should 
be planted very firmly on the lidges, also 3 feet 
apart. The suckers on the second ridge should not 
be planted opposite those on the first, but alternate 
with them, thus giving each plant much more room. 
When the plants are iu active growth, they should 
be mulched with manure, stable manure being pre- 
ferable, as it affords ammonia, which is favourable 
to their growUi. If really fine results are desired, 
the plants should, after they begin to show their 
fruit, but before it begins to ripen, be watered with 
moderately weak, liquid manure, made from horse, 
sheep or pig dung; as s)on, however, as ripening 
commences they should be kept dry. Under the above 
treatment, they should fruit in about 12 months. 
White Yam. — White yams thrive best in a rich; 
loa^my soil, iu a warm, sunny situation, protected 
from high winds. They should be planted six feet 
apart, on hills prepared in the following manner : — 
The ground after being freed from weeds, should 
be deeply dug, and then about 3 or 4 bushes of soil 
should be scraped up in a heap, where a plant is 
required. A piece of yam, or preferably a yam head, 
weighing from one to two pounds, should be placed 
in the centre of each hill and covered by about 
two inches of soil. When they have made from 12 
to 18 inches growth, stakes, 10 or 12 feet long, should 
be struck in for them to twine around, (one in the 
centre of each hill.) Beyond being kept free from 
weeds they will require no further care until ready 
for digging, which is usually in from 9 to 12 months' 
t\m(i.— Imperial Department |o/ Agriculture jor ih( 
West Indies, 
