volo,
let the cacao-trees grow, let them branch off like any other fruit-tree,
say the tamarind, the 'chupon' or sucker will in time bear more than its
mother.'"[3] There seems to be some evidence that _old_ trees profit
from the "chupons" because they continue to bear when the old trunk is
weary, but this is compensated for by the fact that the "chupons"
(Portuguese for suckers) were grown at the expense of the tree in its
youth. Hence other planters call them "thieves," and "gormandizers,"
saying that they suck the sap from the tree, turning all to wood. They
follow the advice given as early as 1730 by the author of _The Natural
History of Chocolate_, when he says: "Cut or lop off the suckers." In
Trinidad, experiments have been started, and after a five years' test,
Professor Carmody says that the indications are that it is a matter of
indifference whether "chupons" are allowed to grow or not.

[3] "_How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate._"

[Illustration: CACAO TREE, WITH SUCKERS, TRINIDAD.]

After hunting, agriculture is man's oldest industry, and improvements
come but slowly, for the proving of a theory often requires work on a
huge scale carried out for several decades. The husbandry of the earth
goes on from century to century with little change, and the methods
followed are the winnowings of experience, tempered with indolence. And
even with the bewildering progress of science in other directions, sound
improvements in this field are rare discoveries. There is great scope
for the application of physical and chemical knowledge to the production
of the raw materials of the tropics. In one or two instances notable
advances have been made, thus the direct production of a white sugar (as
now practised at Java) at the tropical factory will have far-reaching
effects, but with many tropical products the methods practised are as
ancient as they are haphazard. Like all methods founded on long
experience, they suit the environment and the temperament of the people
who use them, so that the work of the scientist in introducing
improvements requires intimate knowledge of the conditions if his
suggestions are to be adopted. The various Departments of Agriculture
are doing splendid pioneer work, but the full harvest of their sowing
will not be reaped until the number of tropically-educated
agriculturists has been increased by the founding of three or four
agricultural colleges and research laboratories in equatorial regions.