of Grenada visited Trinidad, and gave such a
glowing account of its fertility that agriculturists from France
and elsewhere flocked to the colony, and ever since this date it has
maintained a high standard of agricultural advance. The names of the
cacao estates at the present day are nearly all Spanish or French, and
throughout the British occupation of more than a hundred years the old
families have in many cases held the same lands.[21]

[Illustration--Colour Plate: MAP OF TRINIDAD.]

The oldest estates in the island lie in the northern valleys of Santz
Cruz, Maracas, and Arima; but cultivation has been considerably
extended in the Montserrat and Naparima districts, and more recently
in almost every part of the island reached by the extension of the
railway and the coasting steamboat. The Trinidad bean is the largest
and finest flavoured, and commands a higher price on the market than
any other from the West Indies.

[Illustration--Drawing: MAP OF GRENADA, BRITISH WEST INDIES.]

Next in importance to Trinidad is the little island of Grenada; here
cacao is the staple industry, the sugar estates that once lined the
shores having entirely disappeared. Grenada cacao is smaller than that
of Trinidad, possibly on account of the different method of planting
described in a previous chapter, but the flavour of the bean is
exceedingly good and regular, and the crop is bought up eagerly on the
British and American markets. The other West Indian islands producing
cocoa are Jamaica and Dominica, where its cultivation is reviving;
also St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Tobago, and Montserrat, each of which
have a few plantations; those in St. Vincent suffered severely by the
recent hurricane. The French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
supply exclusively to the port of Havre; the cocoa from San Domingo is
of a somewhat inferior quality. Cuba will probably considerably extend
its output under American rule.

[Illustration--Black and White Plate: A Hill Cacao Estate, Grenada, B.W.I.]

[Illustration--Drawing: MAP OF PRINCIPE.]

In the Eastern Hemisphere by far the largest supplies come from the
small islands of St. Thome and Principe, in the Gulf of Guinea,
belonging to the Portuguese. These have in recent years proved
especially adapted for the growth of the cacao, and the exports,
especially from the island of St. Thome, are very large; most of the
crop finds its way to European markets, transhipping at Lisbon. There
is little ca