The Cultivation of Cocoa. 13 
of their fertilizing elements into the drains. 
When forming a cocoa plantation, good drainage — 
necessary for almost every cultivation — and a sufficient 
supply of fresh water, are indispensable. 
The land after being drained and cleared is divided into 
beds, say 30 feet wide. Two weeks before the rains set 
in, the land is planted with plantain suckers. The distance 
depends on the fertility of the soil and varies from eight 
to twelve feet. They must be planted sufficiently deep 
to prevent as much as possible their overthrow by heavy 
winds. 
The plantain shelters and shades the young cocoa, keeps 
the soil cool, and helps to cover the expenses ; bananas 
would serve the purpose of shelter still better, but they 
fetch almost no price in the market when offered in great 
quantities. Cocoa wants shade as long as it lives, and as the 
plantains gradually die and the cocoa trees become taller, 
another shade tree is required. It may be accepted as a 
rule that, sufficient shade good crops, no shade no crops. 
The tree used is Erythrina umbrosa, which not only 
shades the plant, but keeps the soil loose by its roots, 
and has the peculiarity of absorbing a great deal of water 
during the rainy season, which it returns during the dry 
season, thus keeping the soil moist. 
After the plantains are in, young and thick suckers 
of Erythrina, 7 to 8 feet long, are planted at a distance 
of fifty to sixty feet apart in the centre of each bed, at a 
sufficient distance from the tracker, say 6 to 8 feet. As 
these trees generally sprout at the upper end, they must 
be planted sufficiently deep, say 2 feet, to avoid top-hea- 
viness. The Erythrina may also be planted by seed, but as 
