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
their transportation and planting; many of them die, and those which
survive bud and shoot forth, but are never of any value.

The cacao plant should not exceed thirty-six inches in size when
transplanted; if larger, it succeeds with difficulty, as will be
shown.

The nurseries of cacao demand an excellent soil, well prepared, where
the water does not remain. They should be well sheltered from the sun.
Small knolls of earth are formed, in each of which are put two seeds
of cacao, in such a manner that they are parallel with the level of
the ground. During the first twenty days the seeds are covered with
two layers of banana or other leaves. If necessary, the ground is
watered; but the water is not suffered to remain. The most suitable
time for sowing is in November.