The plantations of cacao in the valley of Tuy, the quarters of Marrin,
Cuba, Sabana, Ocumare, San Francis, &c., are subject to another
species of worm called _rasquilla_. It multiplies in the dry seasons.

There are small insects, called by the Spaniards _accerredores_, of
the same figure with those which eat the bark of the cacao, but larger
and of a blackish colour. They feed on the branches of the tree; are
always found upon those branches which they have cut; and the evil can
only be obviated by killing them.

The worms called _vachacos_ occasion also much damage. They eat the
leaf and the flower. To destroy them it is necessary to seek them in
their nests in the earth. Water is thrown on the spot, and stirred, as
in making mortar. By this means their young are crushed, and the evil
is diminished, if it be not entirely removed.

A parasitical plant often attaches itself to a branch of the cacao
tree which it covers over and causes to wither, by nourishing itself
with the substance of the plant. The only remedy is to remove it.

When the cacao trees are in a bearing state, they are subject to a
disease called _tache_. This is a black taint, or stain, which attacks
the trees, encircling them below, and kills them. The mode of
preservation is to make, in the beginning, a slight notch that shall
pierce the bark. But if the taint is extensive, it is necessary to cut
all the affected part. It then exudes a liquid and is healed. The bark
remains of a violet color in the part that has been tainted.

The other enemies of the cacao are the agouti, stag, squirrel, monkey,
&c. The agouti produces most havoc. It often destroys in one night all