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 illustration 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 mass 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.
Professor Carmody, in reporting[2] recently on the result of a four
years' experiment with (1) shade, (2) no shade, (3) partial shade,
says that so far partial shade has given the best results. No general
solution has yet been found to the question of the advantage of shade,
and, as Shaw states for morality, so in agriculture, "the golden rule is
that there is no golden rule." Not only is there the personal factor,
but nature provides an infinite variety of environments, and the best
results are obtained by the use of methods appropriate to the local
conditions.

    [2] _Bulletin_ Dept. of Agriculture, Trinidad, 1916.

[Illustration: CACAO TREES, SHADED BY KAPOK (_Eriodendron Anfractuosum_)
IN JAVA.
(reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan
& Co.)]

[Illustration: CACAO TREES, SHADED BY BOIS IMMORTEL, TRINIDAD.]



_Form of Tree-growth Desired: Suckers._

Viscount Mountmorres, in a delightfully clear exposition of cacao
cultivation which he gave to the native farmers and chiefs of the Gold
Coast in 1906, said: "In pruning, it is necessary always to bear in mind
that the best shape for cacao trees is that of an enlarged open
umbrella," with a height under the umbrella not exceeding seven feet.
With this ideal in his mind, the planter should train up the tree in the
way it should go. Viscount Mountmorres also said that everything that
grows upwards, except the main stem, must be cut off.

This opens a question which is of great interest to planters as to
whether it is wise to allow shoots to grow out from the main trunk near
the ground. Some hold that the high yield on their plantation is due to
letting these upright shoots grow. "Mi Amigo Corsicano said: 'Diavolo,
let the cacao-trees grow, let them branch off like any other fruit-tree,
say the tamarind, the 'chupon' or sucker will in time bear more than its
mother.'"[3] There seems to be some evidence that _old_ trees profit
from the "chupons" because they continue to bear when the old trunk is
weary, but this is compensated for by the fact that the "chupons"
(Portuguese for suckers) were grown at the expense of the tree in its
youth. Hence other planters call them "thieves," and "gormandizers,"
saying that they suck the sap from the tree, turning all to wood. They
follow the advice given as early as 1730 by the author of _The Natural
History of Chocolate_, when he says: "Cut or lop off the suckers." In
Trinidad, experiments have been started, and after a five years' test,
Professor Carmody says that the indications are that it is a matter of
indifference whether "chupons" are allowed to grow or not.

    [3] "_How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate._"

[Illustration: CACAO TREE, WITH SUCKERS, TRINIDAD.]

After hunting, agriculture is man's oldest industry, and improvements
come but slowly, for the proving of a theory often requires work on a
huge scale carried out for several decades. The husbandry of the earth
goes on from century to century with little change, and the methods
followed are the winnowings of experience, tempered with indolence. And
even with the bewildering progress of science in other directions, sound
improvements in this field are rare discoveries. There is great scope
for the application of physical and chemical knowledge to the production
of the raw materials of the tropics. In one or two instances notable