No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 666 



of the seed vessel are composed. It also shows each seed attached to 

 the central axis by a long t'uuiculum or stalklet. As these seeds 

 or beans, as thej are usually called, form the only commercial pro- 

 duct of the cocoa plaut, they merit a somewhat extended descrip- 

 tion. The white appearance of the seeds as seen in the pod is due 

 to a thick closely adhering cover of vvhitish mucilaginous pulp. 

 When this pulp is removed the seeds are found to be nearly oval in 

 outline and of a reddish brown color. They vary considerably in 

 diameter, but are usually from three-fourths to one inch in length, 

 from one-half to five-eighths of an inch wide and from one-fourth to 

 three-eighths of an inch in thickness. 



Fig. 4 shows the two surfaces exposed by a section through the 

 middle of a cocoa bean, so cut as to show the relation between the 

 length avid the thickness of the bean, while the section in Fig. 5 

 shows the relative length and width of the seed. As can be seen 

 from Fig. 4, the cocoa seed is composed entirely of seed coats and 

 embryo. The two fleshy, much folded cotyledons or seed leaves 

 attached to the little radicle or stem are very clearly shown in the 

 photograph. The cultivation of the cocoa plant and the preparation 

 of the seeds for the market form an exceedingly important and a 

 rapidly growing industr}' in those parts of the tropics that are 

 adapted to this purpose. 



The harvesting and preparing the cocoa beans for market involves 

 the following processes: 1st, the cutting and gathering of the pods; 

 2d, opening and removing the beans; 3d, fermenting or sweating the 

 beans; 4th, cleaning and drying. 



The taste of the bean is modified by the process of fermentation, 

 consequently their quality and value depecd largely upon the care 

 and skill with which this operation is conducted. 



(4) THE COCOA BEAN AND ITS PRIMARY PRODUCTS, COCOA HUSKS 



AND COCOA NIBS. 



To prepare the beans for the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate, 

 they are first roasted and then as far as possible the cotyledons or 

 seed leaves are separated from the seed coats and radicles, the 

 former constituting the usable portion, the latter, waste. The total 

 loss due to roasting a«d waste, amounts to about 20 per cent, of the 

 original weight of the beans. In the roasted bean, the little radicle 

 becomes very hard and is consequently difficult to grind. In the 

 manufacture of cocoa and chocolate, it is important that the seeds 

 be ground to the very finest powder possible. As it is not an easy 

 task to griad the radicles to this fine condition their presence is ob- 

 jectionable. After the beans are roasted, by whicli process their 

 flavor is developed, they are crushed into rather coarse fragments 

 40 



