No estimate can be given of the area at present under cocoa cultivation, for the reason that a large number of the cultivators only possess a few trees standing near their houses or scattered in their farms. Where plantations exist they are usually small, and, owing to the irregularity of the planting, no efficient idea of the possible production could be obtained by measurement of the planted area alone. Since the settlement of the Ashantis into more peaceful modes of living, and the adoption by them of agricultural work, cocoa planting has rapidly spread through Ashanti-Akim, and new plantations may be found even westward of Kumassi. From Axim also there is an extension of cocoa-growing towards the north, and it has recently been stated that the most promising land for the cultivation of the tree is to be found to the west of the railway, between Sekondi and Kumassi. The once proverbially truculent and warlike Ashantis have recently, to a large extent, become peaceful cocoa planters. Plantations are also found under European control, often in combination with rubber or kola; but cocoa does not combine with rubber as satisfactorily as coffee, which is more frequently employed. Under “Rubber” some particulars of the plantations, whose returns are available, are supplied. In common with many other cultivated plants, cocoa requires certain definite combinations of climate and soil to ensure remunerative cultivation, and unless these exist the introduction is not to be recommended. With regard to climate, a considerable rainfall is generally thought necessary, the intervals of dry weather not being too prolonged. The drainage of the land should be good, for if the water cannot drain away within a reasonably short time, the trees will be adversely and often severely affected. Although it is recognised that cocoa can sustain itself under conditions of drought for a short time, districts subject to periodical absence of rain for a month or more are unsuitable, and trees planted in such places will generally die after a brief period. The annual rainfall in the cocoa districts of Trinidad averages about 72 inches, but a much heavier fall is experienced in the plantations of Ceylon. In neither of these countries, however, is there an annual long period of complete drought, which is a feature common in most parts of West Africa; and even when an interval without rain occurs, the humidity of the atmosphere compensates for the absence of it. Ceylon is visited by a double monsoon or rainy season, which is also the case in a less marked degree in the Gold Coast. The next requirement of importance is a soil of suitable quality. It is generally considered best to select land which possesses a moderate amount of loose clay mixed with sand, and, if the surface be thickly covered with vegetable deposit, so much the better. Steep hillsides, stiff, boggy, sandy, or rocky land are to be avoided. The presence of low scrub on uncleared