Where there is not a facility for watering, the planting of the cacao
should take place in the rainy season; but when the former is
practicable, it is best to plant in dry weather and assist nature by
irrigation, since it is then in the power of the cultivator to give
the exact quantity of moisture necessary. But, in all cases, care
should be taken that the plants are not wet in the interval between
their being taken out of the ground and replanted.

When the bananas grow old, they should be carefully felled, lest the
cacaos should be injured by their accidental fall. They are totally
removed as soon as the erythrina yields sufficient shade; this
operation gives more air to the trees of the plantation, and
encourages their growth.

Until the cacao attains four feet in height, it is trimmed to the
stem. If it shoots forth several branches, they are reduced to three,
at equal distances; and, in proportion as the plant increases, the
leaves which appear on the three branches are stripped off. If they
bend much, and incline towards the earth, they are tied in bunches, so
that the tree may not remain crooked. The branches, which are trimmed,
are cut at the distance of two fingers from the tree. The suckers
which spring from the tree are also removed, as they only live at its
expense.

_Enemies of the tree_.--The cacao trees should, as already stated,
have sufficient shade to prevent their being burned by the sun. If
they are much exposed to its rays, their branches are scattered,
crack, and the tree dies. They are also infested with worms, which
gnaw the bark all around, then attack the interior and destroy them.