3°4 
THE TEOPICAL 
Either in the month of Febuary or March the 
planter’s attention must be directed to the preparation 
of the land ; in some iilaces, where the rains cease 
early in the season, that is done in December or 
January. The forests having been cut down (tumba) 
the branches must be lopped and strewn (rozada) 
evenly over the ground before they are burnt 
(quemada). But when the forest is cleared, shade 
belts should be left, or afterwards planted in ex- 
posed places so as to shelter the cacao trees from 
the wind. 
Of course the felled forest trees must be allowed 
to remain for a time exposed to the sun, otherwise 
the smaller branches will not catch fire properly. 
Where possible it is better not to burn the bush, 
but to pack it in lines between the young plants or 
madres, in order that, by its rotting, it may add 
to the richness of the soil, otherwise the nitrogenous 
compounds so beneficial to plant life are sent off 
into the atmosphere by the burning. 
Immediately after the burning, which should take 
place in April, or a month after the land is cleared, 
corn and beans are sown on the plot. If the land 
has no natural trees suitable for shade, mother trees 
(madres) are looked for, such as mataraton, pito, 
cocoite, chipilcoite, and chontal. The lastnamed, a 
broad leaved tree, is not good for anything but to 
give shade and shelter. Cocoite and chipilcocoite, 
small leaved trees, are hard wood and are used by 
prefereirce for posts for houses. These trees are 
obtained from forests in the shape of cuttings or 
young plants, and planted in the beginning of the 
rainy season and at a distance of from 15 to 18 
feet apart on rich flat land, but on poorer soil and 
on hill sides, from 12 to 16 feet will be the proper 
distance, llubber can also be planted as shaue, but 
it requires more scientific work and care. In July 
and August the com and beans are harvested, and 
the plot throu{;hly cleaned ; the banana suckers can 
then be planted between every for madres, providing 
rubber has not been thought of and no preparations 
made to raise it. In the spring of the following year 
another crop of corn can be sown between the madres 
leaving a hill close to the place destined for the 
cacao seedling which will serve as chichihuas, tem- 
porary shade, to the young plant when transplanted. 
In Chiapas and Tabasco trees called challa and niadre 
serraua are utilised for this purposes. A year after 
sowing, seedlings are 50 ceutims. (20 inches) high 
and ready to be transplanted. 
In the beginning of the rains, on a cloudy day, 
the operation of transplanting is proceeded with. A 
peon with a machete cuts a squaie line around the 
seedling and with a spade (ooa) lifts up earth and 
seedling; this is clone in 15 to 20 minutes. Then 
another peon wraps up the whole mass with a large 
leaf grown on a plant called hojablanca, found in those 
sections. In the meantime the holes are being made, 
they are dug 8J feet away from the madres if these 
are set 17 feet apart, so as to form a square with 
a mother cacao in the middle. The holes should be 
2 ieet square and 2 feet deep, that is 8 cubic feet 
of earth must be taken up, this can be done by a 
practical man inside of 5 minutes, in soft soil. The 
earth around the seedling after transplanting must 
he W'ell pressed with the loot, but a,t the same time, 
before finishing that operation, dried leaves are mixed 
with the soil to be placed on top. 
Of course land under cacao cultivation, as under 
all proper and successful cultivation, should be kept 
clear ot weeds. In the first place the plot should 
be drained off to ensure quick crops ; and then proper 
tillage will improve the soil and do good to the trees. 
To accomplish this, 4 weedings (ladeas) are necessary 
in the first J year.s, 3 in the second 3 years, and 
2 in the fol'owing years. On steep hill sides cutlassing 
will be sufficient, and on level places hoeing will be 
required. When the trees are grown so that their 
branches shade the land, the weeds will not grow 
very fast, and as a rule they are so loosely rooted 
that they may be easily pulled up. The cultivation 
p,nd barveBting of the side crops must be attended 
AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. i, iSgy. 
to in due time. The cacao planter should give careful 
attention to the pruning of the trees and trimming 
of the madres if he wishes to get a large yield. As 
the pods are borne on the larger branches,' the prin- 
ciple is to develop such branches by judicious pru- 
ning and to see that they are not covered up by a 
mass of foliage and small twigs. A typical cacao 
tree should have one stem, giving off at a few feet 
from the ground three to five branches which spread 
in an open manner and are free from leaves except 
at the top ; thus the leaves shade the open inner 
portion without interfering with a free circulation 
of the air. If the young plants throw out more than 
one main stem, the surplus ones (mamoces or chuponas) 
must be pruned off when the moon is on the wane, 
and after the lateral branches are formed no upward 
prolongation of the stem must be allowed to grow. 
If the tree be left alone these upward growing branches 
will come off from the stem just below the laterals, 
in the form of suckers, and to leave them on is to 
cause the strength to be taken from these fruitful 
laterals, as well as to allow the trees to run up, per- 
haps for 30 feet or more thereby causing much trouble 
iu picking the pods. W^hen the suckers are pruned 
off, fresh orce will grow in a short time, generally 
in a month, so that the trees will require frequent 
attention until they are mature, when the tendency 
to throw out suckers will be stopped. In gathering 
the pods, the suckers may be taken off at the same 
time, but the trees should not be pruned in the 
flowering season. 
Unless in the case of sickly plants on poor soil 
the trees will not require manuring until the crops 
are taken off, when, as may be imagined, it will be 
necessary to restore to the soil, in a cheap way, what 
has been removed iu the valuable produce. A good 
deal will depend on the nature of the soil and the 
yield of the trees. Should crops which were abundant 
be found to be falling off, it is an indication that 
manure is necessary. A compost of yard manure 
and bone dust in the proportion of 5,000 cart loads 
of yard manure and 500 lb. of bone dust per 
hectare of land applied every 3 years is all that is 
required. The successful harvesting of cacao requires 
great care and watchfulness, as it is a fruit that has 
many enemies, the principal being parrots, squirrels, 
tusas (a species of gopher), tepeiscuintle, another 
animal of the rodent class, and ants, specially these 
known under the name of arrieias. But damage bj’ 
these can be obviated by proper cultivation and 
care. 
Eeturns from a cacao plantation (motelar) cannot 
be expected until 5 years from transplanting. At 
2 years old the tree, in rich soil, stands 5 or 6 feet 
high ; when 7 or 8 feet high it begins to bear (jugar), 
but it is not in full bearing (cuaja) until it is between 
10 and 12 feet high. The first flowers under favour- 
able conditions will come out at the third year, 
hut, as the tree is not matured then, they should 
by no means be allowed to produce pods, otherwise 
the plant will be so weakened by the fruiting that 
its grow th will be greatly checked. The first flowers, 
therefore, should all be rubbed off. 
After the leaves of the flower fall, a bud appears 
like the common Mexican chile pepper and takes 3 
or 4 months to mature. Peons or mozos must be 
employed daily until the crop is harvested, as birds 
and squirrels are apt to eat the bud and afterwards 
the seed. The cacao tree flowers all the year round 
and the pickings of the fruit are divided into four 
harvests or seasons. The first, which covers the first 
three months of the year, is known as invernada ; 
the second, lasting through April, May, and June, 
is the cosecha or harvest proper, and is the most 
abundant of the four; the product of the third, ex- 
tending over July, August, and September, is known 
as cacao loco; and that of the three last months of 
the year as alegron. 
The average yield of dry cacao from each 
tree of course varies very much. The limits 
may be said to be from IJ to 8 lb. per tree 
— Sugarcane, 
