In 1850 we imported 1,204,572 lbs. from Mexico; 1,231,773 lbs. from
Chile; 4,438 lbs. from Venezuela, and 23,538 lbs. from Hayti.

BRAZIL.--A great deal of cacao is raised in different parts of this
empire. From the province of Para alone 35,000 bags, valued at
£35,000, were exported in the year 1845. Mr. Edwards, in his "Voyage
up the River Amazon," gives an interesting account:--

"We were now (he says) in the great cacao region, which, for an
extent of several hundred square miles, borders the river. The cacao
trees are low, not rising above fifteen or twenty feet, and are
distinguishable from a distance by the yellowish green of their
leaves, so different from aught else around them. They are planted
at intervals of about twelve feet, and, at first, are protected from
the sun's fierceness by banana trees, which, with their broad
leaves, form a complete shelter. Three years after planting the
trees yield, and therefore require little attention, or, rather,
receive not any. From an idea that the sun is injurious to the
berry, the tree-tops are suffered to mat together until the whole
becomes dense as thatch-work. The sun never penetrates this, and the
ground below is constantly wet. The trunk of the tree grows
irregularly, without beauty, although perhaps by careful training it
might be made as graceful as an apple tree. The leaf is thin, much
resembling our beech, excepting that it is smooth-edged. The flower
is very small, and the berry grows direct from the trunk or
branches. It is eight inches in length, five in diameter, and shaped
much like a rounded double cone. When ripe, it turns from light
green to a deep yellow, and at that time ornaments the tree finely.
Within the berry is a white acid pulp, and embedded in this are from
thirty to forty seeds, an inch in length, narrow and flat. These