the chocolate-nut tree, is by Linnaeus joined to the theobroma, a genus of the pentandria order, belonging to the polyadelphia clas of plants; but of the true chocolate-nut there is only one species known, which we therefore choose to describe separately. The tree producing it is by Mr Catesby said to be about 8 inches in thickness, and 12 feet in height, with a smooth shining bark. The leaves grow alternately, are broad and pointed, set on flat pedicles near an inch long. The flowers come forth only from the trunk and larger branches, in clusters of about eight or ten; each flower consisting of five capular leaves, and five petals, with stamens, and a stylos. To one of these little tufts of blossoms usually succeeds a single fruit about the size of a swan's egg, but longer, more tapering, and ending in a point. The fruit hangs pendant; and, when ripe, has a shell of a purple colour, in substance somewhat like that of a pomegranate, and furrowed from end to end; containing in the middle many kernels of the size of acorns, inclosed in a mucilaginous substance, and which are known amongst us by the name of cacao-nuts, of which chocolate is made. See Plate LXVI. fig. 1.; where n° 1. shews the fruit hanging on the tree; and n° 2. is a transverse section of the nut, shewing the included kernels.

This tree is a native of America, and no other part of the world. The places of its growth, according to Mr Catesby, are the bay of Campeche on Costa Rica between Portabel and Nicaragua, the coast of Corocas, Guajajal, and Colima. All the sugar islands, however, are proper for its cultivation; and the same author assures us, that, in the year 1714, he saw the remains of extensive cacao-walks planted by the Spaniards while in possession of that island; and he complains very much of the neglect of its cultivation by the British planters. Mr Miller, after making complaints of the same kind, gives directions, to the following purpose, for cultivating the chocolate-tree.

The proper situation for chocolate-trees is in a place where they may be protected from the winds, which would soon destroy them. Such places, therefore, where torrents of water have washed away the earth so as to leave broad and deep furrows, are very proper for this purpose. The soil in these gullies (as the inhabitants call them) is very rich and moist, which the chocolate-trees require, and where they will thrive exceedingly; but where there are not a sufficient number of gullies, choice should be made of a situation well sheltered by large trees; or if there are not trees already grown, there should be three or four rows planted round the spot which is designed for the chocolate-trees, of such sorts as are of the quickest growth; and within these rows should be some plantain-trees planted at proper distances, which, being very quick of growth, and the leaves very large, will afford a kindly shelter to the young chocolate-trees planted between them. As the chocolate-trees do not spread their branches very wide, it will be sufficient to place the plantain-trees 24 feet asunder; in which case, there may be two rows of chocolate-trees between them, placing them at ten feet distance from each other in the row. Before the plantation is begun, the ground should be well prepared by digging it deep, and clearing it from roots of trees and noxious plants, which, if suffered to remain in the ground, will shoot up again after the first rain, and greatly greatly obstruct the growth of the cacao-plants. When the ground is thus prepared, the rows should be marked out by a line where the nuts are to be planted, so as that they may be placed in a quincunx order, at equal distance every way, or at least that the plantain-trees between them may form a quincunx with the two rows of chocolate-trees which are placed between them. The nuts should be planted in a rainy season, and in the places where they are to remain, for they seldom bear transplanting. As the fruit ripens at two different seasons, viz. at Midsummer and at Christmas, the plantation may be made at any of these times; but care must be taken to choose such as are perfectly ripe and sound, otherwise the whole trouble and expense will be lost. The manner of planting is to make three holes in the ground, within two or three inches of each other, at the place where every tree is to stand; and into each of these holes one nut should be planted about two inches deep, covering them gently with earth. The reason of planting three nuts is, that they seldom all grow; or if they do, all are not equally vigorous; so that, when the plants have had one year's growth, it will be easy to draw up the weak unpromising plants, and leave the most vigorous. It is proper, however, to observe, that the chocolate-nuts will not retain their power of vegetation long after they are taken from the trees; so that there is no possibility of transporting them to any great distance for planting; nor should they be kept long out of the ground in the natural places of their growth.

When the chocolate-trees first appear above ground, they are very tender, and subject to great injuries from the winds, sun, or drought; for these reasons, besides the shelter of trees already mentioned, it would be proper to have the plantation near a river, and to plant a row of casada on each side of the rows of chocolate-trees, which will grow about seven or eight feet high, and screen the young plants from the violence of the sun the first season; after which they will be in less danger therewith; and the following season, when the casada is taken up for use, the ground should be worked between the young plants, taking care not to injure their roots by the operation. The plantain-trees should be set two or three months before the chocolate-nuts are ripe, that they may be large enough to afford shelter to the young plants; and the casada is always planted a month or six weeks before the chocolate-nuts, for the same reason. Some people, instead of casada, plant potatoes or cucumbers and melons between the young chocolate-plants; but where this is done, it must be with great caution; for if suffered to approach too near the plants, they will greatly injure, if not totally destroy, them. In about seven or eight days after the chocolate-nuts are planted, the young plants will begin to appear above ground; when they should be carefully looked over, to see if any of them are attacked by insects; in which case, these insects must be destroyed, or they will soon devour the plants; or if there are any weeds produced near the plants, they should be carefully cut down with a hoe. About 20 days after the plants have appeared, they will be five or six inches high, and have four or five leaves according to the strength of the plants. In about a year, they will be two feet and an half high, and have 14 or 16 leaves. By this time the casada, which was planted between the rows of chocolate-plants, will have large roots fit for use, therefore should be taken up; and the ground being then wrought over again will greatly encourage the young chocolate-plants. In two years time the young trees will have grown to the height of three feet and an half or four feet, and many of them will begin to flower. These early blossoms, however, should be carefully taken off; for if permitted to remain and produce fruit, they will so much weaken the trees, that they seldom recover their strength again so as to become vigorous. In half a year after, they will produce flowers again; and these also should be all pulled off; none being left to produce fruit till the third year, and then but a few in proportion to the strength of the trees. By following this method, the trees will always produce larger and better nourished fruit than those which are suffered to bear a greater quantity, and will continue much longer in vigour. The fourth year, the trees may be suffered to bear a moderate crop; but even then it is better to pull off some flowers from those trees which are weak, that they may recover strength before they are too old. From the time when the flowers fall off to the maturity of the fruit is about four months.

When the fruit is ripe, the planters generally employ a negro for every row of trees, to gather it. Being furnished with a basket, he goes from tree to tree, cutting off all the ripe fruit. When the basket is full, the fruit is laid on a heap at one end of the plantation; where, after the whole is gathered, they cut the pods lengthwise, and take out all the nuts, carefully divesting them of the pulp adhering to them. Then they carry them to the house, where they lay them in large cases, or other vessels of wood raised above the ground, covering them with leaves of the Indian reed, and mats, upon which they lay some boards, putting stones thereon to keep them down close in order to press the nuts. In these vessels the nuts are kept four or five days; during which time they must be stirred and turned every morning; otherwise they will be in danger of perishing from the great fermentation they are usually in. Without this fermentation, it is said, the nuts will not keep, but sprout if they are in a damp place, or shrivel and dry too much if they are exposed to heat. After the nuts have been thus fermented, they should be taken out of the vessels, and spread on coarse cloths where they may be exposed to the sun and wind; but at night, or in rainy weather, they must be taken under shelter, otherwise the damp will spoil them. If the weather proves fair, three days time will be long enough to dry them, provided they are carefully turned from time to time, that they may dry equally on every side. When they are perfectly dry, they may be put into boxes or sacks, and preserved in a dry place until they are shipped off or otherwise disposed of. The fresher these nuts are, the more oil is contained in them; so that the older they are, the less they are esteemed. The chocolate-trees, if planted on a good soil, and properly taken care of, will continue vigorous and fruitful 25 or 30 years. Besides all the above-mentioned cultivation, they require their dead and decayed branches to be taken off, and likewise the small ill-placed branches to be removed. This, however, must be done very cautiously: no vigorous branches should be shortened, nor any large amputations made on these trees; because they abound with a soft, glutinous, milky milky juice, which will flow out for many days whenever they are wounded, and this greatly weakens the trees. Such branches, however, whose extreme branches are decayed, should be cut off; to prevent the infection from proceeding further; and such branches as are much decayed should be taken off close to the stem of the tree; but this should be performed in dry weather, soon after the crop of fruit is gathered.—Notwithstanding all this tedious work, however, Mr Miller is of opinion that the culture of these trees is the most profitable way in which a plantation can be laid out. Five or six negroes, he says, will be able to manage a plantation of 10,000 trees of this kind. The profit of each tree, he thinks, may be valued at 5s. annually; in which case, such a plantation would be worth £200 per annum.

In order to cultivate this plant in Europe by way of curiosity, it will be necessary to have the nuts planted in boxes of earth (in the countries where they grow) soon after they are ripe, because they will otherwise lose the power of vegetation before they arrive. When the plants begin to appear above ground, they should be carefully watered in dry weather, and protected from the violent heat of the sun, which is very injurious to these plants, especially while they are young. They should also be very clear from weeds; which, if suffered to grow in the boxes, would soon overbear and destroy the plants. When they are grown strong enough to transport, they should be shipped, and placed where they may be screened from strong winds, salt water, and the violent heat of the sun. During their passage, they must be frequently refreshed with water; but it must not be given them in great quantities, or they will be in danger of rotting. When they come into a cool climate, they must be carefully protected from the cold, and will not require water so frequently. When arrived in Britain, they should be carefully taken out of the boxes, and each transplanted into a separate pot filled with light rich earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed of tanner's bark, being careful to cover the glasses in the heat of the day to screen them from the sun; they must also be frequently watered; but it must be done with caution, not to rot their roots. In this hot-bed the plants may remain till Michaelmas; when they must be removed into the bark-stove, and plunged into the tan in the warmest part of the stove. They are too tender to live in the open air in this country, even at the warmest season of the year; and therefore they must be constantly kept in the stove, observing in summer to give them plenty of fresh air, and in winter to keep them very warm. This close confinement in the house makes them subject to contract filth; for which reason they must be frequently washed, or they would be over-run with insects.

The Spaniards and Portuguese were the first Europeans whom the Americans made acquainted with cacao. They made use of it many years without communication thereof to any other nations. So little was it known in those days, that the Dutch privateers, being ignorant of the value of the prizes of cacao they took, used to throw all the nuts into the sea, calling them in derision sheep's treacles. In the year 1649, they knew but of one cacao-tree in all the Antilles; and this was planted out of curiosity in the garden of an Englishman settled in the island of St Croix. In 1655, the Caribs showed to Mons. du Parquet several cacao-trees in the woods of the island of Martinico, of which he was the owner. This discovery gave occasion to that of several other trees of the same kind in other woods of that island; and the cacao-walks afterwards planted there very probably owed their origin to the nuts taken from these woods. One Benjamin planted there the first cacao-walk about the year 1660; but it was not till 20 or 25 years after that the inhabitants of this island began to apply themselves to the cultivation of these trees so as to make walks or plantations of them. There are some places in America where the cacao nuts or grains are used as money, but only among the natives; they give 12 or 14 grains for a Spanish real. The uses to which cacao is put may be reduced to three. It is made into a sweet-meat; also into chocolate (see Chocolate); and there is an oil extracted from it to which they also give the name of butter. The oil is as sweet as that of almonds, and is made after the same manner. Some of the Creole ladies of America use it as a cosmetic, to render the complexion fresh, and the skin soft and smooth. The cacao of the Caracas is sold at Amsterdam for 8½ livres per pound, more or less; when it is in casks, they allow too much for tare; but when it is in bales, the tare is according to the weight. From 100 to 220 pounds, the tare is reckoned 2 pounds; from 230 to 249, 3 pounds; from 250 to any weight above that, 4 pounds. The ferons, to 99 pounds weight, give 8 pounds tare per feron; those of 100 pounds and above, 10 per cent. The cacao of Martinico is commonly in casks, which are tared by the weight. If it is in bags, the same tare is allowed as for that of the Caracas.