to be sheltered from their
ardour; and the mode of combining this protection with the principles
of fertility, forms a very essential part of the skill which its
cultivation demands. The cacao tree is mingled with other trees, which
guard it from the rays of the sun, without depriving it of the benefit
of their heat. The _Erythrina_ and the banana are employed for this
purpose. The latter, by the rapidity of its growth, and the magnitude
of its leaves, protect it for the first year. The erythrina endures at
least as long as the cacao; it is not every soil, however, that agrees
with it. It perishes after a while in sandy and clayey ground, but it
flourishes in such as combine those two ingredients.

In the Antilles this protection cannot be given to cacao, as it would
expose the plantation to destruction by every hurricane. Besides, the
cacao succeeds but indifferently there, and is much less oily than in
other parts.

The quality of the soil, and the species of the erythrina, should
determine the distance at which they ought to be placed. That kind
which the Spaniards call _bucare anaveo_, is planted in a fertile
soil, at the distance of two alleys, that is to say, at each second
range of cacao trees. That which they call _bucare peonio_, is placed
at three alleys in good soils (about forty-eight French feet).

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