The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Part 3

lbs.

1832 85,642 1834 16,171 1835 211 1836 861,531 1837 564,992 1838 1,681,965 1839 508,307 1840 1,058,015 1841 1,802,547 1842 441,084 1843 1,229,515 (Parl. Paper, No. 426, Sess. 1844.)

Only a few hundred pounds of this is entered annually for home consumption, the great bulk being re-exported.

In 1850 we imported 1,204,572 lbs. from Mexico; 1,231,773 lbs. from Chile; 4,438 lbs. from Venezuela, and 23,538 lbs. from Hayti.

BRAZIL.--A great deal of cacao is raised in different parts of this empire. From the province of Para alone 35,000 bags, valued at 35,000, were exported in the year 1845. Mr. Edwards, in his "Voyage up the River Amazon," gives an interesting account:--

"We were now (he says) in the great cacao region, which, for an extent of several hundred square miles, borders the river. The cacao trees are low, not rising above fifteen or twenty feet, and are distinguishable from a distance by the yellowish green of their leaves, so different from aught else around them. They are planted at intervals of about twelve feet, and, at first, are protected from the sun's fierceness by banana trees, which, with their broad leaves, form a complete shelter. Three years after planting the trees yield, and therefore require little attention, or, rather, receive not any. From an idea that the sun is injurious to the berry, the tree-tops are suffered to mat together until the whole becomes dense as thatch-work. The sun never penetrates this, and the ground below is constantly wet. The trunk of the tree grows irregularly, without beauty, although perhaps by careful training it might be made as graceful as an apple tree. The leaf is thin, much resembling our beech, excepting that it is smooth-edged. The flower is very small, and the berry grows direct from the trunk or branches. It is eight inches in length, five in diameter, and shaped much like a rounded double cone. When ripe, it turns from light green to a deep yellow, and at that time ornaments the tree finely.

Within the berry is a white acid pulp, and embedded in this are from thirty to forty seeds, an inch in length, narrow and flat. These seeds are the cacao of commerce. When the berries are ripe, they are collected into great piles near the house, are cut open with a tresado, and the seeds, squeezed carelessly from the pulp, are spread upon mats to dry in the sun. Before being half dried they are loaded into canoes in bulk, and transmitted to Para. Some of these vessels will carry four thousand arrobas, of thirty-two pounds weight each, and, as if such a bulk of damp produce would not sufficiently spoil itself by its own steaming during a twenty days'

voyage, the captains are in the habit of throwing upon it great quant.i.ties of water, to prevent its loss of weight. As might be expected, when they arrive at Para it is little more than a heap of mould, and it is then little wonder that Para cacao is considered the most inferior in foreign markets. Cacao is very little drunk throughout the province, and in the city we never saw it except at the cafes. It is a delicious drink when properly prepared, and one soon loses relish for that nasty compound known in the States as chocolate, whose main ingredients are damaged rice and soap fat. The cacao trees yield two crops annually, and, excepting in harvest time, the proprietors have nothing to do but lounge in their hammocks. Most of these people are in debt to traders in Santarem, who trust them to an unlimited extent, taking a lien upon their crops. Sometimes the plantations are of vast extent, and one can walk for miles along the river, from one to another, as freely as through an orchard. No doubt a scientific cultivator might make the raising of cacao very profitable, and elevate its quality to that of Guyaquil."

Cacao s.h.i.+pped from Brazil to the United Kingdom, for nine years, ending 1835:--

lbs.

1827 3,992,449 1828 1,174,168 1829 2,442,456 1830 1,308,694 1831 1,716,614 1832 2,198,709 1833 2,402,803 1834 1,591,600 1835 1,678,769

_Cultivation in the West India Islands_.--The only English colonies where this nutritious and wholesome substance is now cultivated to any extent, are Trinidad, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent.

In Jamaica and British Guiana it has given place to the production of sugar, and though it forms such an important article in the imports and consumption of the United Kingdom, the quant.i.ty introduced from British plantations is barely equal to the demand. The imports from Jamaica in 1831 were 6,684 lbs., and in 1838, 16,564 lbs.; while the imports since have been merely nominal. Of 5,014,681 lbs. imported in 1841, 2,920,298 lbs. were furnished by the British West Indian colonies, 1,802,547 lbs. came from the Colombian republics, and 269,794 lbs. were brought from Brazil. Trinidad furnishes by far the largest proportion of the West Indian supplies, the imports from thence in 1841 having been 2,500,000 lbs., while the imports from all the other islands were but 427,000 lbs. In 1850, 4,750,000 lbs. were s.h.i.+pped from Trinidad, whilst in 1851 the quant.i.ty was nearly as much.

Trinidad.--Although this tree is indigenous to many, if not most of the tropical parts of America, it was first extensively cultivated in Mexico; and it is remarkable that the words cacao and chocolate are both of Mexican origin. From Mexico the variety called Creole cacao it is supposed was transplanted to the West India colonies; that variety called Forastero (stranger) came from the Brazils. The latter tree is the most productive, but the former gives the best fruit, insomuch that few persons now plant the Forastero cacao. There are two or three indigenous species found growing wild in the forests of Trinidad, viz., _T. Sylvestris cacao_, _T. Guianensis_, and another sort.

There are few, perhaps no agricultural or horticultural pursuits, so delightful (observes Mr. Joseph, in his "History of Trinidad,") as that of the cultivation of the cacao. It is planted in rows, intersecting each other at right angles, at the distance of from twelve to fifteen feet, according to the nature of the soil. The tree is not suffered to grow higher than about fifteen feet, and its broad rich foliage, the hues of which vary from a light green to a dark red, loaded with yellow and dark red pods, which contain the chocolate bean, are beautiful objects; these alleys are shaded by rows of magnificent trees, called _Bois Immortel_ by the French and English, by the Spaniards the Madre de Cacao. It is the _Erythrina umbrosa_ or _arborea_ of Linnaeus. Like the Bignonia or Pouie, this tree, at particular seasons, throws off its foliage and is covered with blossoms; those of the Erythrina are of a brilliant red color, justifying its Greek appellation. In this state they are literally dazzling to behold--no object in the vegetable world looks more striking than the alleys of a cacao walk shaded by a forest above them of the Bois Immortel.

I have been obligingly furnished by Mr. W. Purdie, the able Government botanist of Trinidad, with a short essay upon the cultivation of the cacao tree, with which many of the valleys of that island are so beautifully adorned, and which, at one time, poured into that now unfortunate colony so large a stream of wealth. Fortunately the cacao planter of the island has managed to survive the many years of depression under which--like sugar now--the cacao cultivations lingered and sunk, and which brought the once wealthy planter down to poverty and misery. His prospects, however, are gradually improving.

The opinions put forth by Mr. Purdie, on the subject of which he treats, will be found to run counter to the long-established practice hitherto pursued in the treatment of cacao plantations; but it must not be forgotten that these are the opinions of a person with whom the study of trees, their physiology and functions, has been not merely an amusing science, but an adopted employment, and whose acquirements in this respect, previous to his arrival in the colony, recommended him for selection as the agent to extend through South America (the great cacao region) the investigations of one of the most noted botanical gardens in Europe.

Mr. Purdie says:--

"In the present depressed times, it behoves us to look well into the resources of our fertile island, particularly as far as any improvement can be suggested capable of averting, at least, a part of the misery and ruin that is hovering over us, and which is too eagerly borne on the lips of all cla.s.ses of the community, instead of using our efforts to do what we can to meet the difficulty; but few seem to inquire whether we make the most of our present means or not, whilst every one rather joins in the cry that sugar fetches little or nothing, and it is no uncommon thing to hear the complaint transferred from sugar to cacao.

It is but too true that the markets are at present lamentably against the most important branch of our industry, under the present manner of sugar cultivation and manufacture in this island. But it can hardly be admitted that the same is the case in that of cacao--also a very important branch of our agriculture.

My attention has been lately directed to the average produce per tree, which will, I hope, throw some light on its cultivation. From fifteen cacao trees, which are all there are at St. Ann's, I have this year gathered 115 lbs. of cacoa (dried), and at present there is at least 50 lbs. more ripe on the same trees. This gives 165 lbs.

of cacao from fifteen trees, or 11 lbs. per tree. These cannot be considered fine trees; on the contrary, they are what would be considered ordinary ones; therefore the average in this case is fair, and differs materially from selecting the produce of fifteen trees from a large plantation, and giving the average return of what might be obtained from cacao cultivation. Last year these trees did not average more than 2 lbs. per tree, and I attribute the increase of crop to the thinning out of both the cacao and shade trees.

In a former letter to the cacao-planters of Trinidad, I recommended twenty-four to thirty feet from tree to tree as the proper distance; but so as to meet the feelings of those who, unfortunately for themselves, consider every cacao tree cut down a sacrifice, I propose that the trees be thinned out to twenty-four feet, and that, at intervals of twenty rows at most, avenues of fifty feet in both directions should be left. After this, it will be better seen what may be necessary to be done to each individual tree; neither should the shade trees be forgotten; as a general rule, they are prejudicially thick.

By attending to this, I am quite satisfied that a very material increase in the produce will be seen; indeed, I may say that on this depends the chief difference of 1 lb. and 11 lbs. per tree; for I consider it a very fair inference, that the average obtained here can be realised in any other place in this island, and to any extent, under the same circ.u.mstances of light and air, unless on very poor soil, of which we fortunately have but little.

At twenty-four feet apart there would be seventy-five trees per acre, or 250 per quarree. This, at 11 lbs. per tree, gives 2,750 lbs. of dried cacao per quarree, at 5 dollars per 100 lbs., gives 137 dollars 50 cents gross; deducting 80 dollars per quarree expenses, leaves 57 dollars 60 cents net profit. Thus an estate of 120 acres, or 36 quarrees, would contain 9,000 trees, at 11 lbs. per tree will give 33,000 lbs. of cacao, at 5 dollars gives 4,350 dollars gross per annum; deducting 80 dollars per quarree (a much more liberal sum than is at present laid out), leaves a net balance of 1,950 dollars, or 16 dollars 25 cents per acre.

Now this, it must be remembered, would be the produce from 9,000 trees, and from an estate containing only 36 quarrees of land (which cannot be considered a large one); what, then, might be expected from estates containing 40,000 trees?

I have been recently favoured with the following average return of cacao in this island, which I have no doubt will be considered a fair one. I insert it in full, and, from the very low return, it shows a lamentable deficiency in the cultivation of this most grateful tree:--

'The average number of cacoa trees in a quarree of land is 868.

'1st. The estates throughout the island are generally planted at a distance of 12 feet by 12, and 13 feet by 13. Those planted at 12 by 12 contain 969 trees in the quarree, and those at 13 by 13 contain 767 trees, the area of the quarree being taken at 139,697 superficial feet. There may be in the island about 60 quarrees in all, planted at 15 by 15 feet.

'2nd. The actual annual value of a quarree of land planted in cacoa is ten fanegas, or 1 lb. to a tree.

'It is to be observed that this is the general return from each tree as estates are now cultivated, but if planters had the means of keeping their estates in high cultivation, each cacoa tree would produce 2 lbs. on an average.

'3rd. The annual average cost of cultivating a quarree in cacao, and manufacturing the produce therefrom, is 35 dollars, in the imperfect manner it is carried on at present, thereby giving only 10 fanegas per quarree.'

I believe there are many estates in the island where the average distance is less than 12 by 12; however, to give the present mode the full benefit of the return, I will adopt, for comparison's sake, the maximum number of trees; so that 960 trees per quarree, at l lb. per tree, gives 1,211 lbs. of cacao, at 5 dollars per 100 lbs.

is worth 60 dollars,[2] gross return per quarree; deducting 36 dollars, not 80 dollars, for expenses, which leaves 24 dollars per quarree net, or about 7 dollars 75 cents per acre.

This is a startling account from lands among the most fertile in the world, and from a plant, under fair treatment, next to the sugar cane, perhaps the most grateful for the care bestowed, more especially when we consider that more than ten times that quant.i.ty might be obtained with a comparatively insignificant _outlay of money_.

If such, then, be the case, as stated in the above report (and it is to be regretted that it is too near the truth), apathy on the part of those whose interests are so much concerned is unwarrantable. It is not enough to say that our fathers must have known the proper way to plant cacao; this is but a lame excuse, and not sufficient to dispense with any exertions of the present generation, beyond merely collecting whatever fruit may come, as it were, fortuitously.

Moreover, at the time the present cacao plantations were established in this island, its cultivation was comparatively little known; it is therefore likely that they might have erred, as they undoubtedly did, in cramming them so close together; but notwithstanding this, by a proper system of thinning, the evils might have been easily obviated, and large crops ensured.

A few mornings ago, a cacao planter from Santa Cruz called on me, and in conversation stated that the only place where he had anything like a crop of cacao at present, was where the hurricane of the 11th of October had devastated his estate most severely, and which he at that time considered a ruinous visitation. I hope the lesson will not be lost on him.

In Jamaica it is found necessary to prune the coffee trees yearly, which is done with as much care as gooseberry or currant bushes in England; but, notwithstanding this, I remember a friend of mine in Jamaica telling me of the extraordinary difference on his coffee plantation under the management of a person who understood and attended more particularly to the pruning of his trees.

Lunan, in his 'Hortus Jamaicensis,' published in 1814, gives a very elaborate article on the cacao, although its cultivation was almost extinct in his day in that island. He, however, appears to have derived his information chiefly from Blume, who wrote a short account of Jamaica, in 1672, at which time cacao was the chief export of the island. Lunan attributes its downfall to heavy ministerial exaction, which was then, he says, upwards of 480 per cent. on its marketable value. Speaking of the average weight of cacao per tree, he has the following:--'The produce of one tree is generally estimated at about 20 lbs. of nuts. The produce per acre in Jamaica has been rated at 1,000 lbs. weight per annum, allowing for bad years. In poor soils, and under bad management, the produce of the tree rarely exceeds 8 lbs. weight.' He also says--'When the cacao plants are six months old, the planter from this period must not be too fond of cleaning the plantation from gra.s.s and herbage, because they keep the ground cool; but all creeping, climbing plants, and such weeds as grow high enough to overtop the cacao, should be destroyed.' He gives the distance from tree to tree at 18 feet. I have long since been of opinion that it is of less consequence to clean the ground beneath the trees than to attend to the top-pruning of the shade trees, as well as to the cacao (although the former is very desirable, it is nevertheless a subordinate consideration). Under the present mode of cultivation the ground-cleaning is the only one at all attended to, and that badly.

A very important economy might also be made in the curing of the cacao, by which much time would be saved, and consequently expense, by adopting the same method as is used in Jamaica for drying coffee, namely, floorings of cement, or, as they are called, barbecues. At convenient distances in the centre of these floorings (which are inclined planes) a slightly-raised circular ridge is formed with cement, leaving an aperture at the lower side to allow the escape of any water that may have lodged in them. The cacao is easily brought together in these places in the event of rain, and at night covered with portable wooden frames, which are readily removed by two men.

In this way the cacao would be dried in a fifth of the time much more effectually, and of a brighter colour.

Any experiments tending to bring about a proper system of cultivation and manufacture of cacao, must be beneficial to the island, as well as to individuals; for it cannot be denied that the cultivation of cacoa will still prove advantageous in proportion to the care bestowed on it. Indeed its cultivation is at present languis.h.i.+ng, not so much from inadequate prices, as from a want of proper attention to its cultivation."

In 1796, there were sixty plantations in Trinidad, which produced 96,000 lbs. In 1802 the plantations were reduced to fifty-seven, the yield being about the same. In 1807, 355,000 lbs. of cacao were grown.

In 1831, there were 2,972 quarrees (each three acres and one-fifth English) under cultivation in Trinidad with cacao, on which were 2,464,426 trees, which produced a crop of 1,479,568 lbs. In 1841 there were 6,910 acres planted with cacao.

The following have been the exports from this island from 1821 to 1844:--

lbs.

1821 1,214,093 1822 1,780,379 1823 2,424,703 1824 2,661,628 1825 2,760,603 1826 2,951,171 1827 3,696,144 1828 2,582,323 1829 2,756,603 1830 1,646,531 1831 1,888,852 1832 1,530,990 1833 3,090,526 1834 3,363,630 1835 2,744,643 1836 3,188,870 1837 2,507,483 1838 2,571,915 1839 2,914,068 1840 2,007,494 1841 2,493,302 1842 2,163,798 1843 1,099,975 (Mill's Trinidad Almanac).

In a lecture delivered by Dr. Lindley before the Society of Arts, alluding to the colonial products shown, at the Great Exhibition, he said:--

"There was one sample which ought to be mentioned most especially; namely, the cocoa of admirable quality which comes, or which may come, from Trinidad. Cocoa--cacao, as we should call it--is an article of very large consumption. Enormous quant.i.ties of it are now used in the navy; and every one knows how much it is employed daily in private life. It is, moreover, the basis of chocolate. But we have the evidence of one of the most skilful brokers in London, who has had forty years experience to enable him to speak to the fact--that we never get good cocoa in this country. The consequence is, that all the best chocolate is made in Spain, in France, and the countries where the fine description of cocoa goes. We get here cocoa which is unripe, flinty, and bitter, having undergone changes that cause it to bear a very low price in the market. But it comes from British possessions, and is, therefore, sold here subject to a duty of only 18s. 8d. per cwt., whereas if it came from a foreign country it would pay 56s.[3] The differential duty drives the best cocoa out of the English market. Still it appears that we might supply, from our own colonies, this very cocoa; because, as I have said, there was exhibited, from Trinidad, a very beautiful sample, quite equal to anything produced in the best markets of the Magdalena, of Soconusco, or of other places on the Spanish main. It had no bitterness, no flintiness, no damaged grain in it; but all were plump and ripe, as if they had been picked. The cocoa from the Spanish main goes into other countries, for the preparation of that delicious chocolate which we buy of them. It is thrown out of our market by the differential duty. But it is their own fault if our own colonies do not produce fine cocoa, as Trinidad has conclusively proved."

The exports of cacao from St. Lucia, where there are now 300 acres under cultivation, have been as follows:[4]--I have also added the produce of St. Vincent and Grenada imported here:--

Grenada. St. Lucia. St. Vincent.

lbs. lbs. lbs.

1828 75,275 17,384 1829 300,051 93,793 12,216 1830 337,901 153,340 9,989 1831 368,882 98,090 7,861 1832 196,195 51,925 538 1833 312,446 91,048 1,005 1834 349,367 60,620 2,197 1835 276,359 49,218 5,876 1836 307,236 47,950 7,721 1837 351,613 48,591 2,525 1838 426,626 38,590 6,588 1839 327,497 54,639 760 1840 269,680 82,293 3,956 1841 372,008 78,225 3,874 1842 280,679 55,175 7,268 1843 296,269 48,279 55,867 1844 544,253 65,667 8,304 1845 342,092 31,000 6,450 1850 609,911 1,372 8,642 1852 604,299 9,428 5,287

A little cacao is now grown in Antigua, about 19,000 lbs. having been exported from that island in 1843, and 2,000 in 1846.

Dominica and British Guiana produce small quant.i.ties; our imports from these quarters having been as follows:--