Part 3 (1/2)

_Clearing the Land._

When the planter has chosen a suitable site, an exercise requiring skill, the forest has to be cleared. The felling of great trees and the clearing of the wild tangle of undergrowth is arduous work. It is well to leave the trees on the ridges for about sixty feet on either side, and thus form a belt of trees to act as wind screen. Cacao trees are as sensitive to a draught as some human beings, and these ”_wind breaks_”

are often deliberately grown--Balata, Poui, Mango (Trinidad), Galba (Grenada), Wild Pois Doux (Martinique), and other leafy trees being suitable for this purpose.

_Suitable Soil._

It was for many years believed that if a tree were a.n.a.lysed the best soil for its growth could at once be inferred and described, as it was a.s.sumed that the best soil would be one containing the same elements in similar proportions. This simple theory ignored the characteristic powers of a.s.similation of the tree in question and the ”digestibility”

of the soil const.i.tuents. However, it is agreed that soils rich in potash and lime (e.g., those obtained by the decomposition of certain volcanic rocks) are good for cacao. An open sandy or loamy alluvial soil is considered ideal. The physical condition of the soil is equally important: heavy clays or water-logged soils are bad. The depth of soil required depends on its nature. A stiff soil discourages the growth of the ”tap” root, which in good porous soils is generally seven or eight feet long.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARACTERISTIC ROOT SYSTEM OF THE CACAO TREE.

Note the long tap root.

(Reproduced from the Imperial Inst.i.tute series of Handbooks to the Commercial Resources of the Tropics, by permission.)]

_Manure._

The greater part of the world's cacao is produced without the use of artificial manures. The soil, which is continually washed down by the rains into the rivers, is continually renewed by decomposition of the bed rock, and in the tropics this decomposition is more rapid than in temperate climes. In Guayaquil, ”notwithstanding the fact that the same soil has been cropped consecutively for over a hundred years, there is as yet no sign of decadence, nor does a necessity yet arise for artificial manure.”[1] However, manures are useful with all soils, and necessary with many. Happy is the planter who is so placed that he can obtain a plentiful supply of farmyard or pen manure, as this gives excellent results. ”Mulching” is also recommended. This consists of covering the ground with decaying leaves, gra.s.ses, etc., which keep the soil in a moist and open condition during the dry season. If artificial manures are used they should vary according to the soil, and, although he can obtain considerable help from the a.n.a.lyst, the planter's most reliable guide will be experiment on the spot.

[1] _Bulletin_, Botanic Dept., Jamaica, February, 1900.

_Planting._

In the past insufficient care has been taken in _the selection of seed_.

The planter should choose the large plump beans with a pale interior, or he should choose the nearest kind to this that is sufficiently hardy to thrive in the particular environment. He can plant (1) direct from seeds, or (2) from seedlings--plants raised in nurseries in bamboo pots, or (3) by grafting or budding. It is usual to plant two or three seeds in each hole, and destroy the weaker plants when about a foot high. The seeds are planted from twelve to fifteen feet apart. The distance chosen depends chiefly on the richness of the soil; the richer the soil, the more ample room is allowed for the trees to spread without choking each other. Interesting results have been obtained by Hart and others by grafting the fine but tender criollo on to the hardy forastero, but until yesterday the practice had not been tried on a large scale.

Experiments were begun in 1913 by Mr. W.G. Freeman in Trinidad which promise interesting results. By 1919 the Department of Agriculture had seven acres in grafted and budded cacao. In a few years it should be possible to say whether it pays to form an estate of budded cacao in preference to using seedlings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NURSERY, WITH THE YOUNG CACAO PLANTS IN BASKETS, JAVA.

(Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLANTING CACAO, TRINIDAD, FROM YOUNG SEEDLINGS IN BAMBOO POTS.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CACAO IN ITS FOURTH YEAR (SAMOA).]

There are no longer any mystic rites performed before planting. In the old days it was the custom to solemnize the planting, for example, by sacrificing a cacao-coloured dog (see Bancroft's _Native Races of the Pacific States_.)

_Shade: Temporary and Permanent._

[Ill.u.s.tration: COPY OF AN OLD ENGRAVING SHOWING THE CACAO TREE, AND A TREE SHADING IT.

(From _Bontekoe's Works_.)]

When the seeds are planted, such small plants as ca.s.sava, chillies, pigeon peas and the like are planted with them. The object of planting these is to afford the young cacao plant shelter from the sun, and to keep the ground in good condition. Incidentally the planter obtains ca.s.sava (which gives tapioca), red peppers, etc., as a ”catch crop”

whilst he is waiting for the cacao tree to begin to yield. Bananas and plantains are planted with the same object, and these are allowed to remain for a longer period. Such is the rapidity of plant growth in the tropics that in three or four years the cacao tree is taller than a man, and begins to bear fruit in its fourth or fifth year. Now it is agreed that, as with men, the cacao tree needs protection in its youth, but whether it needs shade trees when it is fully grown is one of the controverted questions. When the planter is sitting after his day's work is done, and no fresh topic comes to his mind, he often re-opens the discussion on the question of shade. The idea that cacao trees need shade is a very ancient one, as is shown in a very old drawing (possibly the oldest drawing of cacao extant) beneath which it is written: ”Of the tree which bears cacao, which is money, and how the Indians obtained fire with two pieces of wood.” In this drawing you will observe how lovingly the shade tree shelters the cacao. The intention in using shade is to imitate the natural forest conditions in which the wild cacao grew. Sometimes when clearing the forest certain large trees are left standing, but more frequently and with better judgment, chosen kinds are planted. Many trees have been used: the saman, bread fruit, mango, mammet, sand box, pois doux, rubber, etc. In the ill.u.s.tration showing kapok acting as a parasol for cacao in Java, we see that the proportion of shade trees to cacao is high. Leguminous trees are preferred because they conserve the nitrogen in the soil. Hence in Trinidad the favourite shade tree is _Erythrina_ or Bois Immortel (so called, a humourist suggests, because it is short-lived). It is also rather prettily named, ”Mother of Cacao.” Usually the shade trees are planted about 40 feet apart, but there are cacao plantations which might cause a stranger to enquire, ”Is this an Immortel plantation?” so closely are these conspicuous trees planted. When looking down a Trinidad valley, richly planted with cacao, one sees in every direction the silver-grey trunks of the Immortel. In the early months of the year these trees have no leaves, they are a ma.s.s of flame-coloured flowers, each ”shafted like a scimitar.” It well repays the labour of climbing a hill to look down on this vermilion glory. Some Trinidad planters believe that their trees would die without shade, yet in Grenada, only a hundred miles North as the steamer sails, there are whole plantations without a single shade tree. The Grenadians say: ”You cannot have pods without flowers, and you cannot have good flowering without light and air.” Shade trees are not used on some estates in San Thome, and in Brazil there are cocoa kings with 200,000 trees without one shade tree. It should be mentioned, however, that in these countries the cacao trees are planted more closely (about eight feet apart) and themselves shade the soil.