THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
459 
Jan. 1898.] 
matter should be placed on the top, and the opera* 
tion is complete. 
At two years old the tree, in good soil, will stand 
five or six feet high : when seven or eight feet high 
it will begin to bear, and when ten or twelve feet 
high it will be in full bearing. This will take place 
in from the fourth to the seventh year, according 
to situation. In the meantime considerable attention 
is necessary. Twice in each year the land should be 
weeded, and the trees must be carefully pruned. 
PRUNING. 
With regard to pruning I quote from a valuable 
report on the productions of Mexico by Sir 
Henry Bering ; ‘ As the pods are borne on the larger 
branches, the principle is to develop such branches 
and see that they are not covered up by foliage and 
small twigs. A typical cacao tree should have one 
stem, giving ofi at a few feet from the ground three to 
five liranches, which spread in an open manner and 
are free from leaves except at the top ; thus the 
leaves shade the open inner portion without inter- 
fering with a free circulation of the air. If the 
young plants throw out more than one main stem, 
the surplus ones 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 unpruned, these 
upward growing branches will shoot 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 the fruitful laterals, as well as to allow the 
trees to run up, perhaps for thirty feet or more, thereby 
causing much trouble in picking the pods. When the 
suckers are pruned off, fresh ones will grow in a 
short time, so that the trees will require frequent 
attention until they are mature, when the tendency 
to throw out suckers will be stopped.’ 
After the flowers have fallen a small pod appears 
like that of the Chile pepper, maturing in three or 
four months. The first flowers, however, should not 
be allowed to produce pods, but should be rubbed 
off. As the cacao tree blossoms all the year round, 
the harvest is practically unceasing, but for con- 
venience there are considered to be four harvests, 
each covering three months. That lasting through 
April, May, and June is the most abundant. When 
the pod takes a reddish purple tint it is generally 
considered to be ripe, but this is definitely ascertained 
by tapping it with a stick or the knuckles. If it 
sounds hollow, and the beans are loose, it is ga- 
thered. 
HARVESTING. 
In the harvesting great care is necessary, or the 
next fruiting bud, which grows close to the pod, 
may be knocked off, and the branch rendered 
barren. When the pod is beyond reach the mozo 
generally uses a curved blade attached to a pole, 
and with a peculiar twist removes it without 
damaging the branch. When gathered, the pods 
are placed in heaps under the trees for twenty- 
four hours, then carried to the cacao-house and 
again heaped up. Round the heaps a number of 
men, women and children take their places. 
With their machetes the men open the pods, 
■ which are then passed to the women and children, 
who remove the beans. 
CUBING. 
On large plantations, such as the Valle ‘ Menier,’ 
the beans are then carried to the ‘ sweating-house,’ 
heaped together, covered with banana or plantain- 
leaves, and allowed to ferment for from four to 
six days, according to the season and temperature. 
To insure thorough fermentation, the heaps are 
occasionally levelled and re-made. Unless this is 
done the beans in the centre of the heaps will 
turn black. When sufficiently fermented they are 
placed on shallow wooden trays and exposed to 
the sun to dry. Sometimes ‘ Barbecues,’ or yards 
with a flooring of cement, are utilised. But 
whether dried in the trays or on a floor, the beans 
should be protected by a moveable roof of canvas 
running on rollers, or a temporary thatch of 
plantain or palm leaves. When the sun is out 
the roof is rolled back and the beans are exposed : 
during rain at nights the roof is rolled over the 
trays or the yard as the case may be. This process is 
continued until the thin skin covering the beans becomes 
brittle and may be easily removed. 
As the drying is very important, I quote again from 
Sir H. Bering’s report : 
‘ Where they are dried in yards the sweated beans 
are spread out thinly, well rubbed, and exposed to 
the sun in the morning, and at mid-day put back in 
the sweatingrhouse to undergo another partial fer- 
mentation, for if they be dried straight off they will 
deteriorate in value. A peon must turn them over 
once in a while during the day, so as to expose the 
whole seed, otherwise one side only will become red 
and the other black. The second day they are kept 
longer in the sun, and the third day they remain 
out as long as the sun lasts. They are put out on 
succeeding days until they are thoroughly dry, which 
is told by their producing a crackling sensation 
when pressed between the thumb and forefinger, 
or when the outer skin breaks off easily. 
To brighten the colour to a deeper red, the beans 
are washed in a 33 per cent, solution of lemon or 
sour orange juice. Sometimes the cacao is clayed 
— that is, sprinkled with red clay that has been 
dried and pulverised — immediately after they have 
been removed from the “ sweating-house.” 
Claying, however, is not adviseable. as the buyer 
can tell immediately when the natural colour of the 
beans has been artificially heightened. Beans of a 
deep-red hue sell for the best price, but this 
should be attained by silkful curing, and not by 
giving them a coat of clay. The wash of lemon or 
orange juice is quite harmless. When perfectly dry 
the beans may be placed in sacks and sent to 
market. 
CROPS, PRICES, AND PROFITS. 
The yield of a mature cacao tree varies considerably! 
In Nicaragua it ranges from 3 to 8 lb., and I think 
6 lb. per tree may be taken as a fair average. Sir 
Henry Bering, referring to Mexico, states; 
‘ Generally one can reckon on 50 pods per tree R 
year, each of which v\ ill produce from 30 to 40 beans 
and 250 dried beans will weigh one pound.’ Taking 
the lowest number of beans per pod, namely, 30, this 
would give 6 lb. per tree. The trees, if carefully, 
cultivated, will continue in bearing for from 22 to 
25 years. 
The price varies considerably. Cacao beans some- 
times sell for 50 shillings per cwt., and at other times 
for as much as 130 shillings. Fair qualities may be said 
to average 75 shillings, but in estimating cost and 
profit I propose to base my calculations on the low 
average price of 65 shillings per cwt. 
Sir Henry Bering estimates the cost of cultivation 
at £8, 8s. per acre, which includes the price of the 
land and all expenses incidental to forming a planta- 
tion. In order to be on the safe side, I estimate the 
cost at a shilling per tree to the end of the sixth 
year, so that an acre, planted with 193 trees, will have 
cost £9, 13s. The expenses of harvesting and curing 
Sir H. Bering places at 2Jd. per lb., which is very 
fair. The following figures will show the cost and 
rofit of one acre of land planted with cacao trees 
5 feet apart : 
Dr. 
Cultivation, in- 
cluding cost of 
land, clearing 
&c., for the 
term of six 
years, at Is. per 
tree £9 13 0 
ng and 
ng for 
of 1158 
acao, at 
rib.... 10 17 1 
Bla 13 1 11 
£33 12 0 
Each successive year, for twenty years or more 
the plantation would yield a crop of the same, or 
Yield of one acre, 
planted with 
193 trees, bear- 
ing 61b., each, 
or 1168 lb„ at 
65s. per cwt. .£33 12 0 
Profit, £13, Is. Jld. 
