advances have been made, thus the direct production of a white sugar (as
now practised at Java) at the tropical factory will have far-reaching
effects, but with many tropical products the methods practised are as
ancient as they are haphazard. Like all methods founded on long
experience, they suit the environment and the temperament of the people
who use them, so that the work of the scientist in introducing
improvements requires intimate knowledge of the conditions if his
suggestions are to be adopted. The various Departments of Agriculture
are doing splendid pioneer work, but the full harvest of their sowing
will not be reaped until the number of tropically-educated
agriculturists has been increased by the founding of three or four
agricultural colleges and research laboratories in equatorial regions.

There is much research to be done. As yet, however, many planters are
ignorant of all that is already established, the facilities for
education in tropical agriculture being few and far between. There are
signs, however, of development in this direction. It is pleasant to note
that a start was made in Ceylon at the end of 1917 by opening an
agricultural school at Peradenija. Trinidad has for a number of years
had an agricultural school, and is eager to have a college devoted to
agriculture. In 1919, Messrs. Cadbury Bros. gave L5000 to form the
nucleus of a special educational fund for the Gold Coast. The scientists
attached to the several government agricultural departments in Java,
Ceylon, Trinidad, the Philippines, Africa, etc., have done splendid
work, but it is desirable that the number of workers should be
increased. When the world wakes up to the importance of tropical
produce, agricultural colleges will be scattered about the tropics, so
that every would-be planter can learn his subject on the spot.

[Illustration: CUTLASSING.]



_Diseases of the Cacao Tree._

Take, for example, the case of the diseases of plants. Everyone who
takes an interest in the garden knows how destructive the insect pests
and vegetable parasites can be. In the tropics their power for
destruction is very great, and they are a constant menace to economic
products like cacao. The importance of understanding their habits, and
of studying methods of keeping them in check, is readily appreciated;
the planter may be ruined by lacking this knowledge.

The cacao tree has been improved and "domesticated" to satisfy human
requirements, a process which has rendered it weaker to resist attacks
from pests and parasites. It is usual to classify man amongst the pests,
as either from ignorance or by careless handling he can do the tree much
harm. Other animal pests are the wanton thieves: monkeys, squirrels and
rats, who destroy more fruit than they consume. The insect pests include
varieties of beetles, thrips, aphides, scale insects and ants, whilst
fungi are the cause of the "Canker" in the stem and branches, the
"Witch-broom" disease in twigs and leaves, and the "Black Rot" of pods.

The subject is too immense to be summarised in a few lines, and I
recommend readers who wish to know more of this or other division of the
science of cacao cultivation, to consult one or more of the four
classics in English on this subject:

_Cocoa_, by Herbert Wright (Ceylon), 1907.
_Cacao_, by J. Hinchley Hart (Trinidad), 1911.
_Cocoa_, by W.H. Johnson (Nigeria), 1912.
_Cocoa_, by C.J.J. van Hall (Java), 1914.




CHAPTER III

HARVESTING AND PREPARATION FOR THE MARKET

    The picking, gathering, and breaking of the cacao are the
    easiest jobs on the plantation.

     "_How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate._"



_Gathering and Heaping._

[Illustration]

In the last chapter I gave a brief account of the cultivation of cacao.
I did not deal with forking, spraying, cutlassing, weeding, and so
forth, as it would lead us too far into purely technical discussions. I
propose we assume that the planter has managed his estate well, and that
the plantation is before us looking very healthy and full of fruit
waiting to be picked. The question arises: How shall we gather it? Shall
we shake the tree? Cacao pods do not fall off the tree even when
over-ripe. Shall we knock off or pluck the pods? To do so would make a
scar on the trunk of the tree, and these wounds are dangerous in
tropical climates, as they are often attacked by canker. A sharp machete
or cutlass is used to cut off the pods which grow on the lower part of
the trunk. As the tree is not often strong enough to bear a man,
climbing is out of the question, and a knife on a pole is used for
cutting off the pods on the upper branches. Various shaped knives are
used by different planters, a common and efficient kind (see drawing),
resembles a hand of steel, with the thumb as a hook, so that the
pod-stalk can be cut either by a push or a pull. A good deal of
ingenuity has been expended in devising a "foolproof" picker which shall
render easy the cutting of the pod-stalk and yet not cut or damage the