October i, 1891.I 
THE TRDP10M. MSWCtJLTUmST 
239 
I'HUXLNC CACAO. 
The act of pninin.!; is poijttlai-ly supponed to cause 
the production of fruit. That properly carried out, 
it has this effoot, is not to he doubted, hut the effect 
is not so direct as is often assinnod. 
Uiven a young tree in good health, nnd with a 
single stein, the pruning should comnieuco by the 
regulation of the jirhiuuies, or Hrst branches made 
by the tree. 'There should, as a general rule, be only 
three, or at most four nrimary branches loft on the 
cacao tree. Those should bo encouraged to extend 
thcinselvcs latentlly, as they have a natural tendency 
to do, and should bo encouraged to dovolope at regular 
distance the secondary branches. 'The tertiary bran- 
ches should also bo encouraged to grow at regular 
intervals. 
In these stages the ojicration should bn performed 
before the wood is sufficiently hard to require the 
use of tho knife, by the method called pinching, 
which is carried out with the thumb ana finger, 
pinching off tho young, succulent shoots that are not 
required. At all times it should be tho endeavour 
of the prunor to maintain tho tree well balanced, 
t,<. it should not have ouo branch growing more 
rapidly than another so as to make it appear lop- 
sided from any point of view. jVlany cultivators do 
not regard this point sufficiently in carrying out their 
pruning operations, and many branches are left, 
owing to their being btariiuj hninvhct, which, for tho 
permanent security’ of tho tree, for its appoaranco 
and for its general bearing qualities, should bo re- 
moved ; for it is much better to check at once the 
tendency of a tree to assume an irregular and un- 
cultivated form, than to allow a branch to grow 
for a time and finally be compelled to remove it 
when of a larger size. 
'The pruning of a tree should bo conducted with 
a view to the production of fruit. Unless wo have 
a plentiful supply of good healthy leaves, evenly dis- 
tributed over tho tree so ’ as to obtain a maximum 
of tho light and air they require, wo cannot ex- 
pect to secure large crops of fruit, in fact unless 
the machinery is in good working order and the sup- 
ply of fuel abundant, wo cannot expect a good output. 
The leaves and roots represent tho macliinery, and 
water, sunlight, air and manure, acting together, 
may well represent tho fuel supplied. 
'The branches of a cacao tree therefore, should bo 
evenly distributed, so that tho leaves they carry may 
bo maintained in good health, and just thinly 
enough distributed to admit sufficient sun and air 
to mature the fruit. 
In pruning neglected trees, tho first thing to do, is 
to cut out all useless wood, or wood which can never 
bo expected to boar, or to produce bearing branches. 
IS ext, to equalize or balanco your tree, and last to 
thin out your branches, and fore-shorten thorn when 
required. 
In removing branches the greatest care should be 
exorcised not to make jagged, ragged, splintering 
or slivering cuts, but to make clean and even cuts 
close to the wood and near to a Imd or young branch 
into which the sap will bo presently directed if tho 
operation is well performed. 
, The young branches which are often found grow- 
ing erect, (commonly called gormandizt-rs from the 
rapidity of their growth), are productions which show 
that the parent stem, as it stands, does not provide 
sufficient channels lor the expenditure of tlie sap 
supplied by tho roots, and in consequence this sap 
provides lor itself an outlet and expends itself upon 
the production of rapid growth in a single direction. 
It shows that the channels for the conveyance of 
^p are clogged or contracted, and that tho amount 
of sap produced cannot pass into the more matured 
portion of the tree. It is also an effort of nature 
to recover itself from hard work. Kvery physiologist 
knows that unless branches are produced, roots can- 
not bo, and the production of root is in exact ratio 
to the production of branch. When however a tree 
IS bearing fairly in proportion to its size, it is bettor 
to keep down these branches, removing them as soon 
ks they appear, as it is certain that by affording free 
OT'iiings for the absorption of the sap, tboy the 
crop of tho full amount of nourishment it should 
obtain, and the productive powers of the tree is 
seriously affected. They should 1)0 removed however 
as they appear, and not bo allowed to grow to a 
large size and then be removed, as that practice 
would bo simply a waste of all the material used 
up in producing them, instead of diverting it to the 
production of fruit. In cases where a cacao tree 
has evidently become somewhat worn out or barren, 
(i.f.) its bearing wood shows evident signs of 
an unhealthy condition, it is better to make 
use of a “gormandizer” to supply anew bearing 
head to tho tree nnd give it a new lease of life. 
13y allowing one of these branches to grow from 
a suitable portion on the stem and treating it care- 
fully in a similar manner as wo would a young (ilant, 
it is possible to rejuvenate and bring again into 
bearing trees from which, owing to their stunted 
nnd contracted character no produce could over be 
expected. And it is really wonderful in what a short 
time the operation can be completed if skilfully 
carried out. After the young tree thus formed has 
assumed fair proportions the older wood should bo 
carfully cut away from time, to time, but not at 
once, as heavy pruning is always a check to growth. 
If pruning is done .by i wounds should 
afterwards be smoothed over with a sharp knife as 
they always heal over bettor if thus treated. In 
situations where the cacao beetle or beetles (for 
there arc several species), are plentiful a mixture of 
coal tar and clay of the consistency of paint should 
bo applied to all wounds. 
Truniug with a blunt cutlass, knife, or cacao hook, 
should never bo allowed. 'The instruments used 
should be those only which are able to carry a keen 
edge, and pruners should always be supplied with 
tho moans of sharpening them without^ leaving tho 
field. 
'The time for pruning is much insisted upon in 
Trinidad as being inllueucod by the “ moon.” On 
this point I desire to remain passive, in a similar 
way as the big blacksmith did when he allowed his 
little wife to boat him. As tho tale goes — when 
asked why ho allowed it, “Why,’’ said ho, " it pleases 
her and it don't hurt me, so what matters? " Well 
if it pleases tho cacao planters to prune at a parti- 
cular time of tho moon, by all means let them do 
so. It please them, and it docs not hurt the 
trees, so it cannot matter. Mr. Morris, when writting 
on tho same point, used tho following words ; — 
“ The Spaniards have a deeply-rooted prejudice 
against trimming cacao at full moon. 'They say it 
causes the tree to bleed and eventually to die. It 
is a well known and general axiom in hortioulturo 
that trees should not be pruned when sap is most 
active, but with regard to the particular instance 
of tho cacao tree it is a question which only ox- 
perionoodandintelligentcaoao planters can determine. 
1 was myself led to look upon tho prejudice, at first, 
as having some general grounds based upon long 
acquaintance with tho habits of tho cacao tree, but 
when I found Spanish settlers had equally strong 
prejudices against gathering pods for seed purposes, 
and putting out plants during tho same period, 1 
came to the conclusion that the subject was one 
which might very fairly be left for the present an 
open question. I may add that 1 saw in Trinidad, 
trees pruned on good estates at all phases of the 
moon, and no injurious effects had been noticed or 
anticipated. ' 
Whether tho moon has an iuffuenoe on plant growth 
or not, I am in accord with Mr. Morris that tho 
matter had better be left an open question ; nut that 
I have any personal doubt upon tho inatter, but tho 
question being one in which my opinion has little 
or no influence either way niam the progress of culti- 
vation; each individual may adhere to his own parti- 
cular practice without being at a disadvantage. 
Through a succession of nearly thirty years' practical 
experience, I have personally canied out a number 
of experiments bearing on the subject, in the course 
of which I could not find that tho moon’s influence 
on plant life was other than completely nil. 
'The season for pruning is however a different 
piftttcr, but 90 thi« Alii9 9piai9ai Mes, It i« how< 
