ltYTTN E HI ACEiE. 
97 
fruit is a coriaceous capsule, partaking somewhat of the form of 
a small cucumber, reddish and marked with 10 grooves exter- 
nally ; internally there are five compartments filled with a ge- 
latinous acid pulp, enveloping the seeds. When ripe, the exter- 
nal surface is either a deep red, or a yellow, and the seeds rattle 
in the capsule. The tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit through- 
out the year. The usual seasons, however, for gathering the 
fruit, are the months of June and December. The seeds are 
25-30 in number ; when fresh, they are of a reddish-brown 
colour. They quickly lose their power of vegetation if taken 
out of the capsule ; but if kept in it, they preserve it for a con- 
siderable time. 
The Cacao is a native of the inter-tropical parts of South 
America. It there delights in low rich plains, or in warm moist 
valleys on the eastern side of the Andes, seldom growing at an 
elevation beyond 200 feet above the level of the sea. It is there 
in a state of the highest luxuriance, acquiring a height of from 40 
to 50 feet. It is now cultivated in all the islands of America, as 
well as in India. A moist climate has been found most suit- 
able for it. As the root is of a tapering form, going deep in- 
to the ground, it generally fails where the land is hard and 
clayey. On the contrary, it thrives in a rich black or brownish 
mould, containing a certain proportion of sand or gravel. 
Where the land, however, is too rich and damp, the trees may 
grow to a great size, but they produce very little fruit. It is 
of importance also, that the situation be sheltered, as the tree, 
from the softness and brittleness of the wood, is apt to suffer 
from high winds. Hence a northern exposure has been found 
particularly unfavourable. The cacao commences to bear about 
the third year, and continues to do so, where the soil is suitable, 
and where proper attention to the cultivation has been paid, for 
twenty-five or thirty years. 
In a plantation, the trees are planted like the Coffee in straight 
lines, leaving to each about 12 feet square. As the scorching 
rays of the sun are very injurious, it has been found necessary 
to plant either the Plamtain or Baimana , or the Erythrina 
umbrosa in the vacant spaces. This last is what is generally 
employed in the Caraccas, and is there called the Bitcare. As 
for pruning, it is necessary to cut off all the old or superfluous 
branches, and especially young shoots from the root. The 
crop is very uncertain, as the tree is exposed to several diseases, 
the most common of which are induced by injuries inflicted by 
several kinds of insects, and by parasitic plants. 
As the fruit ripens, it is gathered from the tree, either by 
the hand, or by means of a forked stick. On the Continent 
the pods are buried in the earth for 30 or 40 days, in order that 
a fermentation may be induced to remove the mucilaginous 
matter which surrounds the seeds, and to destroy the vitality of 
the germen. In the West India islands they are satisfied with 
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