<h2><SPAN name="chapter3" id="chapter3">CHAPTER III</SPAN></h2>
<h3>HARVESTING AND PREPARATION FOR THE MARKET</h3>
<div class="blkquot">
The picking, gathering, and breaking of the cacao are
the easiest jobs on the plantation.</div>
<div class="citation">
"<i>How José formed his Cocoa Estate.</i>"</div>
<h3><i>Gathering and Heaping.</i></h3>
<p><span class="rig">
<ANTIMG class="noborder" src="images/image022_thumb.jpg" alt="Cocoa plant and picker." title="Cocoa plant and picker." />
</span>
In the last chapter I gave a brief account of the cultivation
of cacao. I did not deal with forking, spraying,
cutlassing, weeding, and so forth, as it would
lead us too far into
purely technical
discussions. I propose
we assume
that the planter has
managed his estate
well, and that the
plantation is before
us looking very
healthy and full of
fruit waiting to be
picked. The question
arises: How
shall we gather it?
Shall we shake the tree? Cacao pods do not fall
off the tree even when over-ripe. Shall we knock off
or pluck the pods? To do so would make a scar on the
trunk of the tree, and these wounds are dangerous in
tropical climates, as they are often attacked by canker.
A sharp machete or cutlass is used to cut off the pods
which grow on the lower part of the trunk. As the tree
is not often strong enough to bear a man, climbing is
<SPAN name="page46" id="page46"></SPAN>
out of the question,
and a knife on a pole
is used for cutting off
the pods on the upper
branches. Various
shaped knives are used
by different planters, a
common and efficient
kind (see drawing),
resembles a hand of
steel, with the thumb
as a hook, so that the
pod-stalk can be cut
either by a push or a
pull. A good deal of
ingenuity has been
expended in devising
a "foolproof" picker
which shall render
easy the cutting of
the pod-stalk and yet
not cut or damage the
bark of the tree. A
good example is the
Agostini picker, which
was approved by
Hart.</p>
<div class="lef">
<SPAN name="image23" id="image23"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image023.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="noborder" src="images/image023_thumb.jpg" alt="(1) COMMON TYPE OF CACAO PICKER. (2) AGOSTINI CACAO PICKER." title="(1) COMMON TYPE OF CACAO PICKER. (2) AGOSTINI CACAO PICKER." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
(1) COMMON TYPE OF CACAO PICKER.<br/>
(2) AGOSTINI CACAO PICKER.</p>
</div>
<p>The gathering of
the fruits of one's
labour is a pleasant
task, which occurs
generally only at rare
intervals. Cacao is
gathered the whole
year round. There is,
however, in most districts
one principal
harvest period, and
a subsidiary harvest.
<SPAN name="page47" id="page47"></SPAN></p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image24" id="image24"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image024.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image024_thumb.jpg" alt="GATHERING CACAO PODS, TRINIDAD." title="GATHERING CACAO PODS, TRINIDAD." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
GATHERING CACAO PODS, TRINIDAD.</p>
</div>
<p><SPAN name="page48" id="page48"></SPAN>
With cacao in the tropics, as with corn in England,
the gathering of the harvest is a delight to lovers of the
beautiful. It is a great charm of the cacao plantation
that the trees are so closely planted that nowhere
does the sunlight find between the foliage a space
larger than a man's hand. After the universal glare
outside, it seems dark under the cacao, although the
ground is bright with dappled sunshine. You hear a
noise of talking, of rustling leaves, and falling pods.
You come upon a band of coolies or negroes.
One near you carries a long bamboo—as long as a
fishing rod—with a knife at the end. With a lithe
movement he inserts it between the boughs, and, by
giving it a sharp jerk, neatly cuts the stalk of a pod,
which falls from the tree to the ground. Only the ripe
pods must be picked. To do this, not only must the
picker's aim be true, but he must also have a good eye
for colour. Whether the pods be red or green, as soon
as the colour begins to be tinted with yellow it is ripe
for picking. This change occurs first along the furrows
in the pod. Fewer unripe pods would be gathered if
only one kind of pod were grown on one plantation.
The confusion of kinds and colours which is often
found makes sound judgment very difficult. That the
men generally judge correctly the ripeness of pods
high in the trees is something to wonder at. The pickers
pass on, strewing the earth with ripe pods. They are
followed by the graceful, dark-skinned girls, who gather
one by one the fallen pods from the greenery, until
their baskets are full. Sometimes a basketful is too heavy
and the girl cannot comfortably lift it on to her head,
but when one of the men has helped her to place it
there, she carries it lightly enough. She trips through
the trees, her bracelets jingling, and tumbles the pods
on to the heap. Once one has seen a great heap of
cacao pods it glows in one's memory: anything
more rich, more daring in the way of colour one's
eye is unlikely to light on. The artist, seeking only
an æsthetic effect would be content with this for the
<SPAN name="page49" id="page49"></SPAN>
<SPAN name="page50" id="page50"></SPAN>
consummation and would wish the pods to remain
unbroken.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image25" id="image25"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image025.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image025_thumb.jpg" alt="COLLECTING CACAO PODS INTO A HEAP PRIOR TO BREAKING." title="COLLECTING CACAO PODS INTO A HEAP PRIOR TO BREAKING." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
COLLECTING CACAO PODS INTO A HEAP PRIOR TO BREAKING.</p>
</div>
<h3><i>Breaking and Extracting.</i></h3>
<p>There are planters who believe that the product is
improved by leaving the gathered pods several days
before breaking; and they would follow the practice,
but for the risk of losses by theft. Hence the pods are
generally broken on the same day as they are gathered.
The primitive methods of breaking with a club or by
banging on a hard surface are happily little used.
Masson of New York made pod-breaking machines,
and Sir George Watt has recently invented an ingenious
machine for squeezing the beans out of the
pod, but at present the extraction is done almost
universally by hand, either by men or women. A
knife which would cut the husk of the pod and was so
constructed that it could not injure the beans within,
would be a useful invention. The human extractor has
the advantage that he or she can distinguish the
diseased, unripe or germinated beans and separate
them from the good ones. Picture the men sitting
round the heap of pods and, farther out, in a larger
circle, twice as many girls with baskets. The man
breaks the pod and the girls extract the beans. The
man takes the pod in his left hand and gives it a sharp
slash with a small cutlass, just cutting through the
tough shell of the pod, but not into the beans inside;
and then gives the blade, which he has embedded in
the shell, a twisting jerk, so that the pod breaks in two
with a crisp crack. The girls take the broken pods and
scoop out the snow-like beans with a flat wooden spoon
or a piece of rib-bone, the beans being pulled off the
stringy core (or placenta) which holds them together.
The beans are put preferably into baskets or, failing
these, on to broad banana leaves, which are used as trays.</p>
<p>Practice renders these processes cheerful and easy
work, often performed to an accompaniment of laughing
and chattering.
<SPAN name="page51" id="page51"></SPAN></p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image26" id="image26"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image026.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image026_thumb.jpg" alt="MEN BREAKING PODS, GIRLS SCOOPING OUT BEANS, AND MULES WAITING WITH BASKETS TO CONVEY THE CACAO TO THE FERMENTARY." title="MEN BREAKING PODS, GIRLS SCOOPING OUT BEANS, AND MULES WAITING WITH BASKETS TO CONVEY THE CACAO TO THE FERMENTARY." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
MEN BREAKING PODS, GIRLS SCOOPING OUT BEANS, AND MULES WAITING WITH BASKETS
TO CONVEY THE CACAO TO THE FERMENTARY.</p>
<SPAN name="page52" id="page52"></SPAN></div>
<h3><i>Fermenting.</i></h3>
<p>I allow myself the pleasure of thinking that I am
causing some of my readers a little surprise when I
tell them that cacao is fermented, and that the fermentation
produces alcohol. As I mentioned above,
the cacao bean is covered with a fruity pulp. The bean
as it comes from the pod is moist, whilst the pulp is
full of juice. It would be impossible to convey it to
Europe in this condition; it would decompose, and,
when it reached its destination, would be worthless.
In order that a product can be handled commercially
it is desirable to have it in such a condition that it does
not change, and thus with cacao it becomes necessary
to get rid of the pulp, and, whilst this may be done by
washing or simply by drying, experience has shown
that the finest and driest product is obtained when
the drying is preceded by fermentation. Just as broken
grapes will ferment, so will the fruity pulp of the cacao
bean. Present day fermentaries are simply convenient
places for storing the cacao whilst the process goes
on. In the process of fermentation, Dr. Chittenden
says the beans are "stewed in their own juice."
This may be expressed less picturesquely but more
accurately by saying the beans are warmed by the
heat of their own fermenting pulp, from which they
absorb liquid.</p>
<p>In Trinidad the cacao which the girls have scooped
out into the baskets is emptied into larger baskets,
two of which are "crooked" on a mule's back, and
carried thus to the fermentary. In Surinam it is conveyed
by boat, and in San Thomé by trucks, which
run on Decauville railways.</p>
<p>The period of fermentation and the receptacle to
hold the cacao vary from country to country. With
cacao of the criollo type only one or two days fermentation
is required, and as a result, in Ecuador and Ceylon,
the cacao is simply put in heaps on a suitable floor.
In Trinidad and the majority of other cacao-producing
<SPAN name="page53" id="page53"></SPAN>
areas, where the forastero variety predominates,
from five to nine days are required. The cacao is
put into the "sweat" boxes and covered with banana
or plantain leaves to keep in the heat. The boxes may
measure four feet each way and be made of sweet-smelling
cedar wood. As is usual with fermentation,
the temperature begins to rise, and if you thrust your
hands into the fermenting beans you find they are as
hot and mucilaginous as a poultice.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image27" id="image27"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image027.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image027_thumb.jpg" alt=""SWEATING" BOXES, TRINIDAD. The man is holding the wooden spade used for turning the beans." title=""SWEATING" BOXES, TRINIDAD. The man is holding the wooden spade used for turning the beans." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
"SWEATING" BOXES, TRINIDAD.<br/>
The man is holding the wooden spade used for turning
the beans.</p>
</div>
<div class="centre">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr>
<td align="center"><i>Time.</i></td><td> </td><td align="center"><i>Temperature.</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">When put in</td><td> </td><td align="center">25� C. or 77� F.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">After 1 day</td><td> </td><td align="center">30� C. or 89� F.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">After 2 days</td><td> </td><td align="center">37� C. or 98� F.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">After 3 days</td><td> </td><td align="center">47� C. or 115� F.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3">(After the third day the heat is maintained, but the temperature rises
very little.)</td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<p>The temperature is the simplest guide to the amount
of fermentation taking place, and the uniformity of
the temperature in all parts of the mass is desirable,
as showing that all parts are fermenting evenly. The
<SPAN name="page54" id="page54"></SPAN>
cacao is usually shovelled from one box to another every
one or two days. The chief object of this operation is
to mix the cacao and prevent merely local fermentation.
To make mixing easy one ingenious planter uses
a cylindrical vessel which can be turned about on its
axis.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image28" id="image28"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image028.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image028_thumb.jpg" alt="FERMENTING BOXES, JAVA. From the last box the beans are shovelled into the washing basin. (Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.)" title="FERMENTING BOXES, JAVA. From the last box the beans are shovelled into the washing basin. (Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.)" /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
FERMENTING BOXES, JAVA. From the last box the beans are shovelled into the washing basin.<br/>
(Reproduced from van Hall's <i>Cocoa</i>, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.)</p>
</div>
<p>In other places, for example in Java, the boxes are
arranged as a series of steps, so that the cacao is transferred
with little labour from the higher to the lower.
In San Thomé the cacao is placed on the plantation
direct into trucks, which are covered with plaintain
leaves, and run on rails through the plantation right
into the fermentary. Some day some enterprising
firm will build a fermentary in portable sections easily
erected, and with some simple mechanical mixer to
<SPAN name="page55" id="page55"></SPAN>
replace the present laborious method of turning the
beans by manual labour.</p>
<p>The general conditions<SPAN name="III-1m" id="III-1m" href="#III-1"><small>[1]</small></SPAN>
for a good fermentation
are:</p>
<ol>
<li>The mass of beans must be kept warm.</li>
<li>The mass of beans must be moist, but not
sodden.</li>
<li>In the later stages there must be sufficient air.</li>
<li>The boxes must be kept clean.</li>
</ol>
<h3><i>Changes during Fermentation.</i></h3>
<p>No entirely satisfactory theory of the changes in
cacao due to fermentation has yet been established. It
is known that the sugary pulp outside the beans ferments
in a similar way to other fruit pulp, save that
for a yeast fermentation the temperature rises unusually
high (in three days to 47 degrees C.), and also
that there are parallel and more important changes in
the interior of the bean. The difficulty of establishing
a complete theory of fermentation of cacao has not
daunted the scientists, for they know that the roses of
philosophy are gathered by just those who can grasp
the thorniest problems. Success, however, is so far
only partial, as can be seen by consulting the best introduction
on the subject, the admirable collection of
essays on <i>The Fermentation of Cacao</i>, edited by
H. Hamel Smith. Here the reader will find the valuable
contributions of Fickendey, Loew, Nicholls, Preyer,
Schulte im Hofe, and Sack.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image29" id="image29"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image029.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image029_thumb.jpg" alt="CHARGING THE CACAO ON TO TRUCKS IN THE PLANTATION, SAN THOMÉ." title="CHARGING THE CACAO ON TO TRUCKS IN THE PLANTATION, SAN THOMÉ." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
CHARGING THE CACAO ON TO TRUCKS IN THE PLANTATION, SAN THOMÉ.</p>
</div>
<p>The obvious changes which occur in the breaking
down of the fruity exterior of the bean should be carefully
distinguished from the subtle changes in the bean
itself. Let us consider them separately:—</p>
<p>(<i>a</i>) <i>Changes in the Pulp.</i>—Just as grape-pulp ferments
and changes to wine, and just as weak wine if
left exposed becomes sour; so the fruity sugary pulp
<SPAN name="page56" id="page56"></SPAN>
<SPAN name="page57" id="page57"></SPAN>
outside the cacao bean on exposure gives off bubbles
of carbon dioxide, becomes alcoholic, and later becomes
acid. The acid produced is generally the pleasant
vinegar acid (acetic acid), but under some circumstances
it may be lactic acid, or the rancid-smelling butyric
acid. Kismet! The planter trusts to nature to provide
the right kind of fermentation. This fermentation is
set up and carried on by the minute organisms (yeasts,
bacteria, etc.), which chance to fall on the beans from
the air or come from the sides of the receptacle. One
yeast-cell does not make a fermentation, and as no yeast
is added a day is wasted whilst any yeasts which happen
to be present are multiplying to an army large enough
to produce a visible effect on the pulp. <i>Any</i> organism
which happens to be on the pod, in the air, or on the
inside of the fermentary will multiply in the pulp, if
the pulp contains suitable nourishment. Each kind of
organism produces its own characteristic changes. It
would thus appear a miracle if the same substances
were always produced. Yet, just as grape-juice left
exposed to every micro-organism of the air, generally
changes in the direction of wine more or less good, so
the pulp of cacao tends, broadly speaking, to ferment
in one way. It would, however, be a serious error to
assume that exactly the same kind of fermentation
takes place in any two fermentaries in the world, and
the maximum variation must be considerable. As the
pulp ferments, it is destroyed; it gradually changes
from white to brown, and a liquid ("sweatings")
flows away from it. The "<i>sweatings</i>" taste like sweet
cider. At present this is allowed to run away through
holes in the bottom of the box, and no care is taken to
preserve what may yet become a valuable by-product.
I found by experiment that in the preparation of one
cwt. of dry beans about 1-1/2 gallons of this unstable
liquid are produced. In other words, some seven or
eight million gallons of "sweatings" run to waste
every year. In most cases only small quantities are
produced in one place at one time. This, and the lack
<SPAN name="page58" id="page58"></SPAN>
of knowledge of scientifically controlled fermentation,
and the difficulty of bottling, prevent the starting of
an industry producing either a new drink or a vinegar.
The cacao juice or "sweatings" contains about fifteen
per cent. of solids, about half of which consists of sugars.
If the fermentation of the cacao were centralised in the
various districts, and conducted on a large scale under
a chemist's control, the sugars could be obtained, or
an alcoholic liquid or a vinegar could easily be prepared.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image30" id="image30"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image030.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image030_thumb.jpg" alt="CACAO IN THE FERMENTING TRUCKS, SAN THOMÉ. The covering of banana leaves keeps the beans warm." title="CACAO IN THE FERMENTING TRUCKS, SAN THOMÉ. The covering of banana leaves keeps the beans warm." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
CACAO IN THE FERMENTING TRUCKS, SAN THOMÉ.<br/>
The covering of banana leaves keeps the beans warm.</p>
</div>
<p>The planter decides when the beans are fermented
by simply looking at them; he judges their condition
by the colour of the pulp. When they are ready to be
removed from the fermentary they are plump, and
brown without, and juicy within.
<SPAN name="page59" id="page59"></SPAN></p>
<p>(<i>b</i>) <i>Changes in the Interior of the Bean.</i>—What is
the relation between the comparatively simple fermentation
of the pulp and the changes in the interior
of the bean? This important question has not yet been
answered, although a number of attempts have been
made.</p>
<p>As far as is known, the living ferments (micro-organisms)
do not penetrate the skin of the bean, so
that any fermentation which takes place must be
promoted by unorganised ferments (or enzymes). Mr.
H.C. Brill<SPAN name="III-2m" id="III-2m" href="#III-2"><small>[2]</small></SPAN>
found raffinase, invertase, casease and
protease in the pulp; oxidase, raffinase, casease and
emulsinlike enzymes in the fresh bean; and all these
six, together with diastase, in the fermented bean. Dr.
Fickendey says: "The object of fermentation is, in
the main, to kill the germ of the bean in such a manner
that the efficiency of the unorganised ferment is in no
way impaired."</p>
<p>From my own observations I believe that forastero
beans are killed at 47 degrees C. (which is commonly
reached when they have been fermenting 60 hours),
for a remarkable change takes place at this temperature
and time. Whilst the micro-organisms remain outside,
the juice of the pulp appears to penetrate not only the
skin, but the flesh of the bean, and the brilliant violet
in the isolated pigment cells becomes diffused more
or less evenly throughout the entire bean, including
the "germ." It is certain that the bean absorbs liquid
from the outside, for it becomes so plump that its skin
is stretched to the utmost. The following changes occur:</p>
<div class="blkquot">
<p>(1) <i>Taste.</i> An astringent colourless substance (a tannin or a body
possessing many properties of a tannin) changes to a tasteless
brown substance. The bean begins to taste less astringent as
the "tannin" is destroyed. With white (criollo) beans this
change is sufficiently advanced in two days, but with purple
(forastero) beans it may take seven days.</p>
<p>(2) <i>Colour.</i> The change in the tannin results in the white (criollo)
beans becoming brown and the purple (forastero) beans becoming
<SPAN name="page60" id="page60"></SPAN>
tinged with brown. The action resembles the browning
of a freshly-cut apple, and has been shown to be due to
oxygen (activated by an oxidase, a ferment encouraging combination
with oxygen) acting on the astringent colourless
substance, which, like the photographic developer, pyrogallic
acid, becomes brown on oxidation.</p>
<p>(3) <i>Aroma.</i> A notable change is that substances are created within
the bean, which <i>on roasting</i> produce the fine aromatic odour
characteristic of cocoa and chocolate, and which Messrs.
Bainbridge and Davies have shown is due to a trace (0.001
per cent.) of an essential oil over half of which consists of
linalool.<SPAN name="III-3m" id="III-3m" href="#III-3"><small>[3]</small></SPAN></p>
<p>(4) <i>Stimulating Effect.</i> It is commonly stated that during
fermentation there is generated theobromine, the alkaloid which
gives cacao its stimulating properties, but the estimation of
theobromine in fermented and unfermented beans does not
support this.</p>
<p>(5) <i>Consistency.</i> Fermented beans become crisp on drying. This
development may be due to the "tannins" encountering, in
their dispersion through the bean, proteins, which are thus
converted into bodies which are brittle solids on drying (compare
tanning of hides). The "hide" of the bean may be
similarly "tanned"—the shell certainly becomes leathery
(unless washed)—but a far more probable explanation, in
both cases, is that the gummy bodies in bean and shell set
hard on drying.</p>
</div>
<p>We see, then, that although fermentation was probably
originally followed as the best method of getting
rid of the pulp, it has other effects which are entirely
good. It enables the planter to produce a drier bean,
and one which has, when roasted, a finer flavour, colour,
and aroma, than the unfermented. Fermentation is
generally considered to produce so many desirable
results that M. Perrot's suggestion<SPAN name="III-4m" id="III-4m" href="#III-4"><small>[4]</small></SPAN>
of removing the
pulp by treatment with alkali, and thus avoiding fermentation,
has not been enthusiastically received.</p>
<p>Beans which have been dried direct and those which
have been fermented may be distinguished as follows:
<SPAN name="page61" id="page61"></SPAN></p>
<h3>CACAO BEANS</h3>
<div class="centre">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr>
<td class="bb"> </td><td align="center" class="bb bl">DRIED DIRECT.</td>
<td align="center" class="bb bl">FERMENTED AND DRIED.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><i>Shape of bean</i></td><td align="center" class="bl">Flat</td>
<td align="center" class="bl">Plumper</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><i>Shell</i></td><td align="center" class="bl">Soft and close fitting</td>
<td align="center" class="bl">Crisp and more or less free.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><i>Interior: colour</i></td><td align="center" class="bl">Slate-blue or mud-brown</td>
<td align="center" class="bl">Bright browns and purples</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"> " <i>consistence</i></td>
<td align="center" class="bl">Leather to cheese</td><td align="center" class="bl">Crisp</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"> " <i>appearance</i></td>
<td align="center" class="bl">Solid</td><td align="center" class="bl">Open-grained</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" class="bb"> " <i>taste</i></td>
<td align="center" class="bb bl">More or less bitter or astringent</td>
<td align="center" class="bb bl">Less astringent</td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<p>Whilst several effects of fermentation have not been
satisfactorily accounted for, I think all are agreed that
to obtain one of the chief effects of fermentation,
namely the brown colour, oxidation is necessary. All
recognise that for this oxidation the presence of three
substances is essential:</p>
<ol>
<li>The tannin to be oxidised.</li>
<li>Oxygen.</li>
<li>An enzyme which encourages the oxidation.</li>
</ol>
<p>All these occur in the cacao bean as it comes from the
pod, but why oxidation occurs so much better in a
fermented bean than in a bean which is simply dried
is not very clear. If you cut an apple it goes brown
owing to the action of oxygen absorbed from the air,
but as long as the apple is uncut and unbruised it
remains white. If you take a cacao bean from the pod
and cut it, the exposed surface goes brown, but if you
ferment the bean the whole of it gradually goes brown
without being cut. My observations lead me to believe
that the bean does not become oxidised until it is
killed, that is, until it is no longer capable of germination.
It can be killed by raising the temperature, by
fermentation or otherwise, or as Dr. Fickendey has
shown, by cooling to almost freezing temperatures. It
may be that killing the bean makes its skin and cell
walls more permeable to oxygen, but my theory is
that when the bean is killed disintegration or weakening
of the cell walls, etc., occurs, and, as a result, the
<SPAN name="page62" id="page62"></SPAN>
enzyme and tannin, <i>hitherto separate</i>, become mixed,
and hence able actively to absorb oxygen. The action
of oxygen on the tannin also accounts for the loss of
astringency on fermentation, and it may be well to
point out that fermentation increases the internal surface
of the bean exposed to air and oxygen. The bean,
during fermentation, actually sucks in liquid from the
surrounding pulp and becomes plumper and fuller.
On drying, however, the skin, which has been expanded
to its utmost, wrinkles up as the interior contracts
and no longer fits tightly to the bean, and the
cotyledons having been thrust apart by the liquid,
no longer hold together so closely. This accounts for
the open appearance of a fermented bean. As on drying
large interspaces are produced, these allow the air to
circulate more freely and expose a greater surface of
the bean to the action of oxygen. Since the liquids in all
living matter presumably contain some dissolved
oxygen, the problem is to account for the fact that the
tannin in the unfermented bean remains unoxidised,
whilst that in the fermented bean is easily oxidised.
The above affords a partial explanation, and seems
fairly satisfactory when taken with my previous suggestion,
namely, that during fermentation the bean is
rendered pervious to water, which, on distributing
itself throughout the bean, dissolves the isolated masses
of tannin and diffuses it evenly, so that it encounters
and becomes mixed with the enzymes. From this it
will be evident that the major part of the oxidation of
the tannin occurs during drying, and hence the importance
of this, both from the point of view of the
keeping properties of the cacao, and its colour, taste
and aroma.</p>
<p>It will be realised from the above that there is still
a vast amount of work to be done before the chemist
will be in a position to obtain the more desirable
aromas and flavours. Having found the necessary
conditions, scientifically trained overseers will be required
to produce them, and for this they will need
<SPAN name="page63" id="page63"></SPAN>
to have under their direction arrangements for fermentation
designed on correct principles and allowing
some degree of control. Whilst improvements are
always possible in the approach to perfection, it must
be admitted that, considering the means at their disposal,
the planters produce a remarkably fine product.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image31" id="image31"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image031.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image031_thumb.jpg" alt="FOR DRYING SMALL QUANTITIES. A simple tray-barrow, which can be run under the house when rain comes on." title="FOR DRYING SMALL QUANTITIES. A simple tray-barrow, which can be run under the house when rain comes on." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
FOR DRYING SMALL QUANTITIES.<br/>
A simple tray-barrow, which can be run under the house when rain comes on.</p>
</div>
<h3><i>Loss on Fermenting and Drying.</i></h3>
<p>The fermented cacao is conveyed from the fermentary
to the drying trays or floors. The planter often has
some rough check-weighing system. Thus, for example,
he notes the number of standard baskets of
wet cacao put into the fermentary, and he measures the
fermented cacao produced with the help of a bottomless
barrel. By this means he finds that on fermentation
the beans lose weight by the draining away of the
"sweatings," according to the amount and juiciness of
the pulp round them. The beans are still very wet, and
on drying lose a high percentage of their moisture by
evaporation before the cacao bean of commerce is
obtained.
<SPAN name="page64" id="page64"></SPAN></p>
<p>The average losses may be tabulated thus:</p>
<div class="centre">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr>
<td align="left">Weight of wet cacao from pod</td><td align="right">100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Loss on fermentation</td><td align="right">20 to 25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Loss on drying</td><td align="right" class="bb">40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Cacao beans of commerce obtained</td><td align="right">35 to 40</td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image32" id="image32"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image032.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image032_thumb.jpg" alt="SPREADING THE CACAO BEANS ON MATS TO DRY IN THE SUN, CEYLON." title="SPREADING THE CACAO BEANS ON MATS TO DRY IN THE SUN, CEYLON." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
SPREADING THE CACAO BEANS ON MATS TO DRY IN THE SUN, CEYLON.</p>
</div>
<p>The drying of cacao is an art. On the one hand it is
necessary to get the beans quite dry (that is, in a condition
in which they hold only their normal amount of
water—5 to 7 per cent.) or they will be liable to go
mouldy. On the other hand, the husk or shell of the
bean must not be allowed to become burned or brittle.
Brittle shells produce waste in packing and handling,
and broken shells allow grubs and mould to enter the
beans when the cacao is stored. The method of drying
varies in different countries according to the climate.
José says: "In the wet season when 'Father Sol'
chooses to lie low behind the clouds for days and your
cocoa house is full, your curing house full, your trees
<SPAN name="page65" id="page65"></SPAN>
<SPAN name="page66" id="page66"></SPAN>
loaded, then is the time to put on his mettle the energetic
and practical planter. In such tight corners, <i>amigo</i>,
I have known a friend to set a fire under his cocoa
house to keep the cocoa on the top somewhat warm.
Another friend's plan (and he recommended it) was to
address his patron saint on such occasions. He never
addressed that saint at other times."</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image33" id="image33"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image033.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image033_thumb.jpg" alt="DRYING TRAYS, GRENADA. The trays slide on rails. The corrugated iron roofs will slide over the whole to protect from rain." title="DRYING TRAYS, GRENADA. The trays slide on rails. The corrugated iron roofs will slide over the whole to protect from rain." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
DRYING TRAYS, GRENADA.<br/>
The trays slide on rails. The corrugated iron roofs will slide over the whole to protect from rain.</p>
</div>
<p>In most producing areas sun-drying is preferred,
but in countries where much rain falls, artificial dryers
are slowly but surely coming into vogue. These vary
in pattern from simple heated rooms, with shelves, to
vacuum stoves and revolving drums. The sellers of
these machines will agree with me when I say that
every progressive planter ought to have one of these
artificial aids to use during those depressing periods
when the rain continually streams from the sky. On
fine days it is difficult to prevent mildew appearing on
the cacao, but at such times it is impossible. However,
whenever available, the sun's heat is preferable, for it
encourages a slow and even drying, which lasts over
a period of about three days. As Dr. Paul Preuss says:
"II faut éviter une dessiccation trop rapide. Le cacao
ne peut être séché en moins de trois jours."
<SPAN name="III-5m" id="III-5m" href="#III-5"><small>[5]</small></SPAN> Further,
most observers agree with Dr. Sack that the valuable
changes, which occur during fermentation, continue during
drying, especially those in which oxygen assists. The
full advantage of these is lost if the temperature used
is high enough to kill the enzymes, or if the drying is too
rapid, both of which may occur with artificial drying.</p>
<p>Sun-drying is done on cement or brick floors, on
coir mats or trays, or on wooden platforms. In order
to dry the cacao uniformly it is raked over and over
in the sun. It must be tenderly treated, carefully
"watched and caressed," until the interior becomes
quite crisp and in colour a beautiful brown.</p>
<p>Sometimes the platforms are built on the top of the
fermentaries, the cacao being conveyed through a hole
in the roof of the fermentary to the drying platform.
<SPAN name="page67" id="page67"></SPAN></p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image34" id="image34"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image034.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image034_thumb.jpg" alt=""HAMEL-SMITH" ROTARY DRYER. (Made by Messrs. David Bridge and Co., Manchester)." title=""HAMEL-SMITH" ROTARY DRYER. (Made by Messrs. David Bridge and Co., Manchester)." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
"HAMEL-SMITH" ROTARY DRYER.<br/>
(Made by Messrs. David Bridge and Co., Manchester).<br/>
The receiving cylinders, six in number, are filled approximately
three-quarters full with the cacao to be dried. These are then placed
in position on the revolving framework, which is enclosed in the
casing and slowly revolved. The cylinders are fitted with baffle plates,
which gently turn over the cacao beans at each revolution so that
even drying throughout is the result. The casing is heated to the
requisite temperature by means of a special stove, the arrangement
of which is such as to allow the air drawn from the outside to
circulate around the stove and to pass into the interior of the casing
containing the drying cylinders. The fumes from the fuel do not
in any way come in contact with the material during drying.</p>
<SPAN name="page68" id="page68"></SPAN></div>
<p>In Trinidad the platform always has a sliding roof,
which can be pulled over the cacao in the blaze of noon
or when a rainstorm comes on. In other places, sliding
platforms are used which can be pushed under cover
in wet weather.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image35" id="image35"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image035.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image035_thumb.jpg" alt="DRYING PLATFORMS, TRINIDAD, WITH SLIDING ROOFS." title="DRYING PLATFORMS, TRINIDAD, WITH SLIDING ROOFS." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
DRYING PLATFORMS, TRINIDAD, WITH SLIDING ROOFS.</p>
</div>
<h3><i>The Washing of Cacao.</i></h3>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image36" id="image36"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image036.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image036_thumb.jpg" alt="CACAO DRYING PLATFORMS, SAN THOMÉ. Three tiers of trays on rails. (Reproduced by permission from the Imperial Institute series of Handbooks to the Commercial Resources of the Tropics)." title="CACAO DRYING PLATFORMS, SAN THOMÉ. Three tiers of trays on rails. (Reproduced by permission from the Imperial Institute series of Handbooks to the Commercial Resources of the Tropics)." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
CACAO DRYING PLATFORMS, SAN THOMÉ. Three tiers of trays on rails.<br/>
(Reproduced by permission from the Imperial Institute series of
Handbooks to the Commercial Resources of the Tropics).</p>
</div>
<p>In Java, Ceylon and Madagascar before the cacao
is dried, it is first washed to remove all traces of pulp.
This removal of pulp enables the beans to be more
rapidly dried, and is considered almost a necessity in
Ceylon, where sun-drying is difficult. The practice
appears at first sight wholly good and sanitary, but
although beans so treated have a very clean and bright
appearance, looking not unlike almonds, the practice
<SPAN name="page69" id="page69"></SPAN>
<SPAN name="page70" id="page70"></SPAN>
cannot be recommended. There is a loss of from 2 to
10 per cent. in weight, which is a disadvantage to the
planter, whilst from the manufacturer's point of view,
washing is objectionable because, according to Dr.
Paul Preuss, the aroma suffers. Whilst this may be
questioned, there is no doubt that washing renders
the shells more brittle and friable, and less able to bear
carriage and handling; and when the shell is broken,
the cacao is more liable to attack by grubs and mould.
Therein lies the chief danger of washing.</p>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image37" id="image37"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image037.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image037_thumb.jpg" alt="WASHING THE BEANS IN A VAT TO CLEAN OFF THE PULP, CEYLON." title="WASHING THE BEANS IN A VAT TO CLEAN OFF THE PULP, CEYLON." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
WASHING THE BEANS IN A VAT TO CLEAN OFF THE PULP, CEYLON.</p>
</div>
<h3><i>Claying, Colouring, and Polishing Cacao.</i></h3>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image38" id="image38"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image038.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image038_thumb.jpg" alt="CLAYING CACAO BEANS IN TRINIDAD." title="CLAYING CACAO BEANS IN TRINIDAD." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
CLAYING CACAO BEANS IN TRINIDAD.</p>
</div>
<p>Just as in Java and Ceylon, to assist drying, they
wash off the pulp, so in Venezuela and often in Trinidad,
with the same object, they put earth or clay on
<SPAN name="page71" id="page71"></SPAN>
the beans. In Venezuela it is a heavy, rough coat, and
in Trinidad a film so thin that usually it is not visible.
In Venezuela, where fermentation is often only allowed
to proceed for one day, the use of fine red earth may
possibly be of value. It certainly gives the beans a very
pretty appearance; they look as though they have
been moistened and rolled in cocoa powder. But in
Trinidad, where the fermentation is a lengthy one, the
use of clay, though hallowed by custom, is quite unnecessary.
In the report of the Commission of Enquiry
(Trinidad, 1915) we read concerning claying that "It
is said to prevent the bean from becoming mouldy in
wet weather, to improve its marketable value by giving
it a bright and uniform appearance, and to help to preserve
its aroma." In the appendix to this report the
following recommendation occurs: "The claying of
cacao ought to be avoided as much as possible, and
when necessary only sufficient to give a uniform colour
ought to be used." In my opinion manufacturers
<SPAN name="page72" id="page72"></SPAN>
would do well to discourage entirely the claying of
cacao either in Trinidad or Venezuela, for from their
point of view it has nothing to recommend it. One per
cent. of clay is sufficient to give a uniform colour, but
occasionally considerably more than this is used. If
we are to believe reports, deliberate adulteration is
sometimes practised. Thus in <i>How José formed his
Cocoa Estate</i> we read: "A cocoa dealer of our day
to give a uniform colour to the miscellaneous brands
he has purchased from Pedro, Dick, or Sammy will
wash the beans in a heap, with a mixture of starch,
sour oranges, gum arabic and red ochre. This mixture
is always boiled. I can recommend the 'Chinos' in
this dodge, who are all adepts in all sorts of 'adulteration'
schemes. They even add some grease to this
mixture so as to give the beans that brilliant gloss
which you see sometimes." In Trinidad the usual
way of obtaining a gloss is by the curious operation
known as "dancing," which is performed on the
moistened beans after the clay has been sprinkled on
them. It is a quaint sight to see a circle of seven or
eight coloured folk slowly treading a heap of beans.
The dancing may proceed for any period up to an
hour, and as they tread they sing some weird native
chant. Somewhat impressed, I remarked to the planter
that it had all the appearance of an incantation. He
replied that the process cost 2d. per cwt. Dancing
makes the beans look smooth, shiny, and even, and it
separates any beans that may be stuck together in
clusters. It may make the beans rounder, and it is said
to improve their keeping properties, but this remains
to be proved. On the whole, if it is considered desirable
to produce a glossy appearance, it is better to use
a polishing machine.</p>
<h3><i>The Weight of the Cured Cacao Bean.</i></h3>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image39" id="image39"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image039.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image039_thumb.jpg" alt="SORTING CACAO BEANS IN JAVA. (Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.)." title="SORTING CACAO BEANS IN JAVA. (Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.)." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
SORTING CACAO BEANS IN JAVA.<br/>
(Reproduced from van Hall's <i>Cocoa</i>, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.).</p>
</div>
<p>Planters and others may be interested to know the
comparative sizes of the beans from the various producing
areas of the world. Some idea of these can be
<SPAN name="page73" id="page73"></SPAN>
<SPAN name="page74" id="page74"></SPAN>
gained by considering the relative weights of the beans
as purchased in England.</p>
<div class="centre">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr>
<td align="left">Kind.</td><td align="center">Average weight<br/>of one Bean.</td>
<td align="center">Number of Beans<br/>to the lb.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Grenada</td><td align="left">1.0 grammes</td><td align="center">450</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Par�</td><td align="left">1.0 "</td>
<td align="center">450</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Bahia</td><td align="left">1.1 "</td>
<td align="center">410</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Accra</td><td align="left">1.2 "</td>
<td align="center">380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Trinidad</td><td align="left">1.2 "</td>
<td align="center">380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Cameroons</td><td align="left">1.2 "</td>
<td align="center">380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Ceylon</td><td align="left">1.2 "</td>
<td align="center">380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Caracas</td><td align="left">1.3 "</td>
<td align="center">350</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Machala</td><td align="left">1.4 "</td>
<td align="center">330</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Arriba</td><td align="left">1.5 "</td>
<td align="center">300</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Carupano</td><td align="left">1.6 "</td>
<td align="center">280</td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<h3><i>The Yield of the Cacao Tree.</i></h3>
<p>The average yield of cacao has in the past generally
been over-stated. Whether this is because the planter
is an optimist or because he wishes others to think his
efforts are crowned with exceptional success, or because
he takes a simple pride in his district, is hard to
tell. Probably the tendency has been to take the finer
estates and put their results down as the average.</p>
<p>Of the thousands of flowers that bloom on one tree
during the year, on an average only about twenty
develop into mature pods, and each pod yields about
1-1/3 ounces of dry cured cacao. Taking the healthy
trees with the neglected, the average yield is from 1-1/2
to 2 pounds of commercial cacao per tree. This seems
very small, and those who hear it for the first time
often make a rapid mental calculation of the amazing
number of trees that must be needed to produce the
world's supply, at least 250 million trees. Or again,
taking the average yield per acre as 400 lbs., we find
that there must be well over a million acres under cacao
cultivation. At the Government station at Aburi (Gold
Coast) three plots of cacao gave in 1914 an average
yield of over 8 pounds of cacao per tree, and in 1918
<SPAN name="page75" id="page75"></SPAN>
some 468 trees (<i>Amelonado</i>) gave as an average 7.8
pounds per tree. This suggests what might be done
by thorough cultivation. It suggests a great opportunity
for the planters—that, without planting one
more tree, they might quadruple the world's production.</p>
<p>The work which has been started by the Agricultural
Department in Trinidad of recording the yield of individual
trees has shown that great differences occur.
Further, it has generally been observed that the heavy
bearing trees of the first year have continued to be
heavy bearers, and the poor-yielding trees have remained
poor during subsequent years. The report
rightly concludes that: "The question of detecting
the poor-bearing trees on an estate and having them
replaced by trees raised from selected stock, or budded
or grafted trees, of known prolific and other good
qualities is deserving of the most serious consideration
by planters."</p>
<h3><i>The Kind of Cacao that Manufacturers Like.</i> <SPAN name="III-6m" id="III-6m" href="#III-6"><small>[6]</small></SPAN></h3>
<div class="blkquot">
<p>Planters have suggested to me that if the users and
producers of cacao could be brought together it would
be to their mutual advantage. Permit me to conceive a
meeting and report an imaginary conversation:</p>
<p>PLANTER: You know we planters work a little in the dark. We don't
know quite what to strive after. Tell me exactly what kind of
cacao the manufacturers want?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Every buyer and manufacturer has his tastes and
preferences and—.</p>
<p>PLANTER: Don't hedge!</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: The cacao of each producing area has its special
characters, even as the wine from a country, and part of the
good manufacturer's art is the art of blending.</p>
<p>PLANTER: What—good with bad?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: No! Good of one type with good of another type.</p>
<p>PLANTER: What do you mean exactly by good?</p>
<p><SPAN name="page76" id="page76"></SPAN>
MANUFACTURER: By good I mean large, ripe, well-cured beans. By
indifferent I mean unripe and unfermented. By abominable I
mean germinated, mouldy, and grubby beans. Happily, the
last class is quite a small one.</p>
<p>PLANTER: You don't mean to tell me that only the good cacao sells?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Unfortunately, no! There are users of inferior
beans. Practically all the cacao produced—good and indifferent—is
bought by someone. Most manufacturers prefer the fine,
healthy, well fermented kinds.</p>
<p>PLANTER: Well fermented! They have a strange way of showing
their preference. Why, they often pay more for Guayaquil than
they do for Grenada cacao. Yet Guayaquil is never properly
fermented, whilst that from the Grenada estates is perfectly
fermented.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Agreed. Just as you would pay more for a badly-trained
thoroughbred than for a well-trained mongrel. It's
breed they pay for. The Guayaquil breed is peculiar; there is
nothing else like it in the world. You might think the tree had
been grafted on to a spice tree. It has a fine characteristic aroma,
which is so powerful that it masks the presence of a high percentage
of unfermented beans. However, if Guayaquil cacao
was well-fermented it would (subject to the iron laws of Supply
and Demand) fetch a still higher price, and there would not
be the loss there is in a wet season when the Guayaquil cacao,
being unfermented, goes mouldy. I think in Grenada they
plant for high yield, and not for quality, for the bean is small
and approaches the inferior Calabacillo breed. Its value is
maintained by an amazing evenness and an uniform excellence
in curing. The way in which it is prepared for the market does
great credit to the planters.</p>
<p>PLANTER: They don't clay there, do they?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: No! and yet it is practically impossible to find a
mouldy bean in Grenada estates cacao. Evidently claying is
not a necessity—in Grenada.</p>
<p>PLANTER: Ha! ha! By that I suppose you insinuate that it is not a
necessity in Trinidad, where the curing is also excellent. Or in
Venezuela? What's the buyer's objection to claying?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Simply that claying is camouflage. Actually the
buyer doesn't mind so long as the clay is not too generously
used. He objects to paying for beans and getting clay. However,
it's really too bad to colour up with clay the black
cacao from diseased pods; it might deceive even experienced
brokers.</p>
<p><SPAN name="page77" id="page77"></SPAN>
PLANTER: Ha! ha! Then it's a very sinful practice. I don't think
that ever gets beyond the local tropical market. I know the
merchants judge largely by "the skin," but I thought the
London broker—.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: You see it's like this. Just as you associate a certain
label with a particularly good brand of cigar so the planter's
mark on the bag and the external appearance of the beans
influence the broker by long association. But just as you cannot
truly judge a cigar by the picture on the box, so the broker has
to consider what is under the shell of the bean. One or two
manufacturers go further, but don't trust merely to "tasting
with their eyes"—they only come to a conclusion when they
have roasted a sample.</p>
<p>PLANTER: But a buyer can get a shrewd idea without roasting,
surely? You agree. Well, what exactly does he look for?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Depends what nationality the bean is—I mean
whether it was grown in Venezuela, Brazil, Trinidad, or the
Gold Coast. In general he likes beans with a good "break,"
that is beans which, under the firm pressure of thumb and
forefinger, break into small crisp nibs. Closeness or cheesiness
are danger signals, warnings of lack of fermentation,—so is a
slate-coloured interior. He prefers a pale, even-coloured interior,—cinnamon,
chocolate, or café-au-lait colour and—.</p>
<p>PLANTER: One moment! I've heard before of planters being told
to ferment and cure until the bean is cinnamon colour. Why,
man, you couldn't get a pale brown interior with beans of the
Forastero or Calabacillo type if you fermented them to rottenness.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: True! Well, if the breed on your plantation is
purple Forastero, and more than half of the cacao in the world
is, you must develop as much brown in the beans as possible.
They should have the characteristic refreshing odour of raw
cacao, together with a faint vinegary odour. The buyers much
dislike any foreign smell, any mouldy, hammy, or cheesy
odour.</p>
<p>PLANTER: And where do the foreign odours come from?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: That's debatable. Some come from bad fermentations,
due to dirty fermentaries, abnormal temperatures, or
unripe cacao.<SPAN name="III-7m" id="III-7m" href="#III-7"><small>[7]</small></SPAN>
Some come from smoky or imperfect artificial
<SPAN name="page78" id="page78"></SPAN>
drying. Some come from mould. Unfermented cacao is liable
to go mouldy, so is germinated or over-ripe cacao with broken
shells. Some cacao unfortunately gets wet with sea water.
There always seems to me something pathetic in the thought
of finely-cured cacao being drowned in sea water as it goes out
in open boats to the steamer.</p>
<p>PLANTER: You see, we haven't piers and jetties everywhere, and
often it's a long journey to them. Well, you've told me the
buyers note break, colour and aroma. Anything else?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: They like large beans, partly because largeness
suggests fineness, and partly because with large beans the percentage
of shell is less. Small flat beans are very wasteful and
unsatisfactory; they are nearly all shell and very difficult to
separate from the shell.</p>
<p>PLANTER: When there's a drought we can't help ourselves; we
produce quantities of small flat beans.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: It must be trying to be at the mercy of the weather.
However, the weather doesn't prevent the dirt being picked out
of the beans. Buyers don't like more than half a per cent. of
rubbish; I mean stones, dried twig-like pieces of pulp, dust,
etc., left in the cacao, neither do they like to see "cobs," that
is, two or more beans stuck together, nor—.</p>
<p>PLANTER: How about gloss?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: The beauty of a polished bean attracts, although
they know the beauty is less than skin deep.</p>
<p>PLANTER: And washing?</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: In my opinion washing is bad, leaves the shell too
fragile. I believe in Hamburg they used to pay more for washed
beans; although very little, I suppose less than five per cent.,
of the world's cacao is washed, but in London many buyers
prefer "the great unwashed." However, brokers are conservative,
and would probably look on unwashed Ceylon with
suspicion.</p>
<p>PLANTER: Well, I have been very interested in everything that you
have said, and I think every planter should strive to produce
the very best he can, but he does not get much encouragement.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: How is that?</p>
<p>PLANTER: There is insufficient difference between the price of the
best and the common.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: Unfortunately that is beyond any individual manufacturer's
control. The price is controlled by the European
and New York markets. I am afraid that as long as there is so
<SPAN name="page79" id="page79"></SPAN>
large a demand by the public for cheap cocoas so long will
there be keen competition amongst buyers for the commoner
kinds of beans.</p>
<p>PLANTER: The manufacturer should keep some of his own men on
the spot to do his buying. They would discriminate carefully,
and the differences in price offered would soon educate the
planters!</p>
<p>MANUFACTURER: True, but as each manufacturer requires cacao
from many countries and districts, this would be a very costly
enterprise. Several manufacturers have had their own buyers
in certain places in the Tropics for some years, and it is generally
agreed that this has acted as an incentive to the growers to
improve the quality.<SPAN name="III-8m" id="III-8m" href="#III-8"><small>[8]</small></SPAN>
But in the main we have to look to the
various Government Agricultural Departments to instruct and
encourage the planters in the use of the best methods.
<SPAN name="page80" id="page80"></SPAN></p>
</div>
<div class="centre">
<SPAN name="image40" id="image40"></SPAN>
<SPAN href="images/image040.jpg">
<ANTIMG src="images/image040_thumb.jpg" alt="THE WORLD'S CACAO PRODUCTION." title="THE WORLD'S CACAO PRODUCTION." /></SPAN>
<p class="caption">
THE WORLD'S CACAO PRODUCTION.<br/>
(Mean of 5 years, 1914-1918. Average world production 295,600
tons per annum.) Diagram showing relative amounts produced by
various countries. The shaded parts show production of British
Possessions.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-1" id="III-1" href="#III-1m">[1]</SPAN> For full details see the pamphlet by the author on <i>The Practice
of Fermentation in Trinidad</i>.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-2" id="III-2" href="#III-2m">[2]</SPAN> <i>Philippine Journal of Science</i>, 1917.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-3" id="III-3" href="#III-3m">[3]</SPAN> <i>Journal of the Chemical Society</i>, 1912.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-4" id="III-4" href="#III-4m">[4]</SPAN> <i>Comptes Rendus</i>, 1913.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-5" id="III-5" href="#III-5m">[5]</SPAN>
Dr. Paul Preuss, <i>Le cacao. Culture et Préparation</i>.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-6" id="III-6" href="#III-6m">[6]</SPAN>
For further information read <i>The Qualities in Cacao Desired
by Manufacturers</i>, by N.P. Booth and A.W. Knapp, International
Congress of Tropical Agriculture, 1914.</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-7" id="III-7" href="#III-7m">[7]</SPAN>
Cameroon cacao sometimes has an objectionable odour and
flavour, which may be due to its being fermented in an unripe condition,
for, as Dr. Fickendey says: "Cameroon cacao has to be
harvested unripe to save the pods from brown rot."</div>
<div class="footnote">
<SPAN name="III-8" id="III-8" href="#III-8m">[8]</SPAN>
The Director of Agriculture, in a paper on <i>The Gold Coast
Cocoa Industry</i>, says: "We are indebted to Messrs. Cadbury Bros.,
of Bournville, for a lead in this direction. They have several agents
in the colony who purchase on their behalf only the best qualities
at an enhanced price, and reject all that falls below the standard of
their requirements."</div>
<hr class="longer" />
<p><SPAN name="page81" id="page81"></SPAN></p>
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