acao-trees in
the Philippines never attain a greater height than eight or ten feet,
while in their native soil they frequently reach thirty, and sometimes
even forty feet. The tree begins to bear fruit in its third or fourth
year, and in its fifth or sixth it reaches maturity, when it usually
yields a "ganta" of cacao, which, as I have mentioned, is worth from
two to two and a half dollars, and always finds a purchaser. [75]

[Neglect.] The profits arising from a large plantation would,
therefore, be considerable; yet it is very rare to meet with one. I
heard it said that the Economical Society had offered a considerable
reward to any one who could exhibit a plantation of ten thousand
berry-bearing trees; but in the Society's report I found no mention
of this reward.

[Damage by storms.] The great obstacles in the way of large plantations
are the heavy storms which recur almost regularly every year,
and often destroy an entire plantation in a single day. In 1856 a
hurricane visited the Island just before the harvest, and completely
tore up several large plantations by the roots; a catastrophe that
naturally has caused much discouragement to the cultivators. [76]
One consequence of this state of things was that the free importation
of cacao was permitted, and people were enabled to purchase Guayaqual
cacao at fifteen dollars per quintal while that grown at home cost
double the money.

[Diseases and pests.] The plant is sometimes attacked by a disease,
the origin of which is unknown, when it suffers severely from certain
noxious insects. [77] It is also attacked by rats and other predatory
vermin; the former sometimes falling upon it in such numbers that
they destroy the entire harvest in a single night. Travellers in
America say that a well-kept cacao plantation is a very picturesque
sight. In the Philippines, however, or at any rate in East Luzon,
the closely-packed, lifeless-looking, moss-covered trees present a
dreary spectacle. Their existence is a brief one. Their oval leaves,
sometimes nearly a foot long, droop singly from the twigs, and form
no luxuriant masses of foliage. Their blossoms are very insignificant;
they are of a reddish-yellow, no larger than the flowers of the lime,
and grow separately on long weedy stalks. The fruit ripens in six
months. When it is matured, it is of either a red or a yellow tint,
and is somewhat like a very rough gherkin. Only two varieties appear to
be cultivated in the Philipp