The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom / Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.

by P. L. Simmonds

The former species of erythrina is that which elevates itself the highest. The second species has many thorns, the upper surface of the leaf is darker and the lower whiter. Both kinds should be cut in the wane of the moon, and remain in the shade until its increase, at which time they should be planted. It is much preferable, however, to take them from a nursery.

In one range of cacao trees a banana is placed between two cacaos, and an erythrina between the two following. In the other range a banana is placed between each cacao tree, and no erythrinas, so that the latter are at the distance of two alleys. The banana and the erythrina are first planted, and when a shelter from the sun is thus provided, the hole for the cacao is made, around which are planted four stalks of the yucca plant, at the distance of two feet from each other. At the end of two months the cacao is planted. The smaller the plant is, the better. There are, nevertheless, soils subject to worms where the small plants do not thrive; but, excepting in this particular, the small plants are preferable, because the large require more labor for their transportation and planting; many of them die, and those which survive bud and shoot forth, but are never of any value.

The cacao plant should not exceed thirty-six inches in size when transplanted; if larger, it succeeds with difficulty, as will be shown.

The nurseries of cacao demand an excellent soil, well prepared, where the water does not remain. They should be well sheltered from the sun. Small knolls of earth are formed, in each of which are put two seeds of cacao, in such a manner that they are parallel with the level of the ground. During the first twenty days the seeds are covered with two layers of banana or other leaves. If necessary, the ground is watered; but the water is not suffered to remain. The most suitable time for sowing is in November.

Where there is not a facility for watering, the planting of the cacao should take place in the rainy season; but when the former is practicable, it is best to plant in dry weather and assist nature by irrigation, since it is then in the power of the cultivator to give the exact quantity of moisture necessary. But, in all cases, care should be taken that the plants are not wet in the interval between their being taken out of the ground and replanted.

When the bananas grow old, they should be carefully felled, lest the cacaos should be injured by their accidental fall. They are totally removed as soon as the erythrina yields sufficient shade; this operation gives more air to the trees of the plantation, and encourages their growth.

Until the cacao attains four feet in height, it is trimmed to the stem. If it shoots forth several branches, they are reduced to three, at equal distances; and, in proportion as the plant increases, the leaves which appear on the three branches are stripped off. If they bend much, and incline towards the earth, they are tied in bunches, so that the tree may not remain crooked. The branches, which are trimmed, are cut at the distance of two fingers from the tree. The suckers which spring from the tree are also removed, as they only live at its expense.

Enemies of the tree.—The cacao trees should, as already stated, have sufficient shade to prevent their being burned by the sun. If they are much exposed to its rays, their branches are scattered, crack, and the tree dies. They are also infested with worms, which gnaw the bark all around, then attack the interior and destroy them. The only remedy which has hitherto been found, is to employ people to kill these worms, which are deposited by a small, scaly winged insect, which gnaws the tree; as soon as it hears the approach of its destroyers, it lets itself fall, and trusts to its wings for safety.

The color of this insect is a mixture of ash color and white. If pressed, it emits a sound something similar to the noise of water thrown on a very hot substance. It has two small horns on its head, the points of which are directed upwards. It is so lively that, even when the head is separated from the body, it is a long time in dying. To deposit its progeny it makes small holes in the tree.

At the commencement of the winter, or rainy season, another worm makes its appearance, which devours the leaves of the young cacao plant. This species of worm is called goaseme, and they are in some years so abundant, that all the people of the plantation are solely employed in destroying them. This worm is four inches in length, and of the thickness of a finger. It is sometimes called angaripola, or Indian, on account of the vivacity of its colors. It is believed that these worms are mediately produced by other large worms in the earth, from which are engendered butterflies, who lay their eggs on the leaves of the cacao. These eggs are full of small worms, which feed on the leaves of the cacao, and appear in clusters of the size of a shilling. They are sought and destroyed with great attention, as they occasion considerable damage. Those which escape lodge themselves in the earth, and in the succeeding year are changed into butterflies. At the time when the worm makes its appearance, it is necessary to make fires, which should not be so large as to injure the cacao, yet sufficient to attract and burn the butterfly.