S80 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1900. 
• I go throngh regularly and often, and break off all 
young shoots, and cat out any dead wood. You will 
see tnat my trees are perfectly clean of vines and 
lichens. A tree can't be healthy that has the pores 
q£ its bark stopped with roots of parasitieial plants.' 
'What is your opinion about shade ?' 
' I find in my locality that shade is beneficial in the 
growing stage, but is inimical when the tree commen- 
ces bearing, at least heavy shade is. This holds good 
with even the " CrioUo " Cacao, of which, as you see, 
I have a large number. With me this is one of the 
hardiest varieties, and bears profusely. My trees 
have crossed with each other and now I have a great 
namber of varieties shading off one into the other.' 
' Do you use any care in selecting seed ?' 
' At first I was anxious to get my laud planted up> 
80 raised whatever seed I could get. Now, I select and 
replace a bad variety with a good one whenever oppor- 
tunity offers.' 
Do you grow other products with your young Cacao ? 
Always ; such crops as yams, tannias, cassava, and 
canes come well with young Cacao, and, in my opinion 
rather do it good than otherwise, besides yielding catch 
crops of considerable value.' 
What prooessa do you adopt in picking and curing ? 
Do you separate the different varieties before sweating? 
' With a small cultivation like mine it would be 
difficult to get a sufficient quantity of Criollo or any 
other variety at any one time to set up separate 
Bwaating boxes. I see the advantages of it, and regret 
that I cannot do so. My last account sales, however, 
are very satisfactory, and shew a receipt of 72 shilling 
per cwt., which, taking all things into consideration, 
IB very fair indeed. The process of curing is that 
generally pursued in Grenada, and needs no special 
explanation." 
More recently the following suggestions have been 
prepared by this Department with the view of assisting 
focal efforts to maintain and improve the cultivation 
of cacao trees in grenada; 
Commissioner of Agriculture — to Governor of Wmdviar 
Islands. 
Barbados, 26th May, 1899 
Sir, — I have the honour to forward for Yonr 
Ezoeilency's information a Memorandum in duplicate 
prepared by this Department containing suggestion 
for renovating old and neglected oacao trees on the 
gpper lands of Grenada. 
- 2. During my recent visit to the island it was very 
forcibly impressed on my mind that, although the 
oaltivation of cacao is steadily extending in the low- 
lands, the original areas planted in the mountains 
are gradually becoming unproductive. Hence it is that 
|he exports of Grenada cacao have not increased in 
proportion to the area actually planted. 
3. In the general welfare of the island it is desir- 
able that the old cacao areas should receive special 
attention. Now prices are good is a favourable oppor- 
tunity for doing so, and I would suggest that the 
subject be brought before the Grenada Agricultural 
Society with the view of eliciting the opinion of the 
taembera in regard to so important a matter. 
4. It is possible that the Agricultural Society might 
aasist small cultivators by affording information in 
regard to the best means for obtaining suitable manures 
at the loweet possible cost. It is desirable that all 
artificial manures sapplied in the island should be sold 
nnder a guarantee that they contain the percentage of 
ingredients and the composition stated in the invoice. 
I would add that certified samples of imported manures 
forwarded to this office by the Government with a copy 
of the invoice would be analysed free of charge. 
I have, etc., 
(Sgd.) D. MoERis, 
Commissioner of Agriculture 
for the West Indies. 
Memokandum on methods to restore old and neglected 
oacao trees on the upper lauds of Grenada. 
1. Pruninfi. All neglected and badly formed trees 
should in the first place be carefully pruned. This 
operation might be undertaken after the crop, possibly 
the nionth.s of February, March or April would suit 
for this work. Cut out all dead wood and unhealthy 
branches. The utmost care should be taken to make 
all cuts perfectly clean, and as close to the main limb 
as possible. Too much importance cannot be attached 
to this point, especially as it is a practice in ihe West 
Indies to leave a small stump, of an inch or two in 
length. Whenever this happens it will be noticed the 
stump dies and decay spreads into the heart of the 
tree. Always trim the edges of a cut with a sharp knife 
The ensures a more rapid healing of the wound. 
In the case of specially old cacao trees, it would 
be a good plan to make use of a sucker, preferably 
one springing from a point near the root, and allow 
it to grow up in the place of a parent tree. The old 
stem should then be gradually removed. By adopting 
this method and by paying proper attention to tillage 
and draining it is quite possible to uansfonn, in a short 
time, an apparently hopeless field uf old cacao stems 
into a healthy bearing one. 
In very extreme cases it may be necessary to remove 
tks parent stem altogether. This should be done about 
2 feet from the ground, and one of the suckers allowed 
to grow up as described above. Where the main stem 
is entirely taken away the cut should not be made 
horizontally across the grain of the nood, but in a 
sloping direction, gay at an angle of 450. The former 
method is strongly to be condemned as it allows the 
accumulation of rain water in the v^iood, tending to 
rot the stem and destroy the suckers. 
Lastly, it is advisable to dress all cuts with a mixture 
of coal tar and whale oil, in equal proportions. This 
not only encourages the formation of new tissues, but 
aafagnards the wounds from the effects of rain and the 
attatkj of the borer and other enemies of the cacao tree. 
2. Cleaning the trees. By this is meant the removal 
of moss, " Capitaine du bois " (Loranfhub), " Love vine" 
(Cuscuta), and any other of the numerous parasitical 
plants which infest neglected cacao trees on the upper 
lands. The best season for this operation is during 
March and April. Showery weather should be selected 
if possible, as at that time moss is easily retuoved, 
without the least injury to the bark of the tree. Blunt 
knives made of bamboo or preferably stiff fibre brushes 
should be used for the purpose. For removing '' Capi- 
taine du bois " all that is required is an ordinary 
cacao picking knife attached to a long stick of bamboo_ 
Care must however be taken to completely remove the 
plant, as any portion of it left on the branch of a tree 
rapidly grows again. The removal of the "Love 
Vine " (Cifscwto) is a more tedious operation. The only 
way in which it can be dealt with is to employ boys 
to climb the trees and to remove every particle of the 
plant by hand. The smallest portion left on a tree 
rapidly grows again. When this pest once becomes 
thoroughly established in a cacao field, it is then a 
most expensive matter to eradicate it- Apparently 
the plant is spreading in Grenada and every effort 
should therefore be made to keep it in check. 
3. ForTcing. With regard to the amount of forking 
re(}aired for a cacao tree, the opinions of planters 
vary considerably. While some planters claim to have 
obtained the beat results from a system of deep fork- 
ing and liberal root-pruning, others maintain that 
they prefer alight turning over or loosening of the 
soil with as little disturbance to the roots as possible. 
It is quite probable in the case of a perfectly healthy 
cacao tree with a well balanced head and a full supply 
of leafy branches, that any great disturbance of die root 
surface would not be beneficial. These conditions 
however do not apply to neglected cacao trees on the 
mountain slopes, Such trees, as a rule, nave few 
branches ; this indicates that they also have a corres- 
pondingly limited amount of roots. Deep forking and 
draining will be of iminense value wnerever this 
occurs. Care must be taken not to mutilate or break 
the large roots, as these serve to secure the upright 
