Irrigation must be resorted to in cases of deficient or unevenly distributed rainfall, and irrigation is always advantageous whenever there is suspension of rain for a period of more than fifteen days. Concerning temperatures the best is that with an annual mean of 26° to 28°, with 20° as the mean minimum where any measure of success may be expected. A mean temperature of over 30° is prejudicial to cacao growing. The last but not least important of the atmospheric phenomena for our consideration are the winds. Cacao loves to "steam and swelter in its own atmosphere" and high winds are inimical, and even refreshing breezes are incompatible, with the greatest success. As there are but few large areas in these Islands that are exempt from one or other of our prevailing winds, the remedies that suggest themselves are: The selection of small sheltered valleys where the prevailing winds are directly cut off by intervening hills or mountains; the plantation of only small groves in the open, and their frequent intersection by the plantation of rapid growing trees; and, best of all, plantings made in forest clearings, where the remaining forested lands will furnish the needed protection. LOCATION. It is always desirable to select a site that is approximately level or with only enough fall to assure easy drainage. Such sites may be planted symmetrically and are susceptible to the easiest and most economical application of the many operations connected with a plantation. Provided the region is well forested and therefore protected from sea breezes, the plantation may be carried very near to the coast, provided the elevation is sufficient to assure the grove immunity from incursions of tide water, which, however much diluted, will speedily cause the death of the plants. Excavations should be made during the dry season to determine that water does not stand within 1 1/2 meters of the surface, a more essential condition, however, when planting is made "at stake" than when nursery reared trees are planted. Hillsides, when not too precipitous, frequently offer admirable shelter and desirable soils, but their use entails a rather more complicated system of drainage, to carry away storm water without land washing, and for the ready conversion of the same into irrigating ditches during the dry season. Further, every operation involved must be performed by hand labor, and in the selection of such a site the planter must be largely influenced by the quantity and cost of available labor.