ala and Nicaragua not producing so much in a whole
year.

John Ogilvy's _America_, 1671.

When one starts to discuss, however briefly, the producing areas, one
ought first to take off one's hat to Ecuador, for so long the principal
producer, and then to Venezuela the land of the original cacao, and
producer of the finest criollo type. Having done this, one ought to say
words of praise to Trinidad, Grenada and Ceylon for their scientific
methods of culture and preparation; and, last but not least, the newest
and greatest producer, the Gold Coast, should receive honourable
mention. It is interesting to note that in 1918 British Possessions
produced nearly half (44 per cent.) of the world's supply.

Whilst the war has not very materially hindered the increase of cacao
production in the tropics, the shortage of shipping has prevented the
amount exported from maintaining a steady rise. The table below, taken
mainly from the "Gordian," illustrates this:

WORLD PRODUCTION OF CACAO.
Total in tons (1 ton = 1000 kilogrammes)

1908 194,000 1914 277,000
1909 206,000 1915 298,000
1910 220,000 1916 297,000
1911 241,000 1917 343,000
1912 234,000 1918 273,000
1913 258,000 1919 431,000

The following table is compiled chiefly from Messrs. Theo. Vasmer &
Co.'s reports in the _Confectioners' Union_.

CACAO PRODUCTION OF THE CHIEF PRODUCING AREAS OF THE WORLD.
(1 ton = 1000 kilogrammes).

Country. 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Gold Coast[1] 53,000 77,300 72,200 91,000 66,300
Brazil 40,800 45,000 43,700 55,600 41,900
Ecuador 47,200 37,000 42,700 47,200 38,000
San Thome 31,400 29,900 33,200 31,900 26,600
Trinidad[1] 28,400 24,100 24,000 31,800 26,200
San Domingo 20,700 20,200 21,000 23,700 18,800
Venezuela 16,900 18,300 15,200 13,100 13,000
Lagos[1] 4,900 9,100 9,000 15,400 10,200
Grenada[1] 6,100 6,500 5,500 5,500 6,700
Fernando Po 3,100 3,900 3,800 3,700 4,200
Ceylon[1] 2,900 3,900 3,500 3,700 4,000
Jamaica[1] 3,800 3,600 3,400 2,800 3,000
Surinam 1,900 1,700 2,000 1,900 2,500
Cameroons 1,200 2,400 3,000 2,800 1,300
Haiti 2,100 1,800 1,900 1,500 2,300
French Cols.