154 



Shape and size. — In shape and size there is every variation be- 

 tween the long pod with acuminate apex — as in some forms of 

 Nicaragua and Cundeamor, — to the short, ovate, broad base and 

 blunt apex of Amelonado. Some forms are constricted at the 

 base — Condeamorand Liso — others are wide at the base — Sambito 

 and Amelonado — and others intermediate between these. 



COCOA SEEDS. 



In shape, size, and colour the seeds vary considerably. The 

 shape is sometimes flat as in Amelonado, Calabacillo, and some 

 forms of Nicaraguan, round and plump in forms of Caracas and 

 Nicaraguan, long and more or less rounded in Cundeamor and 

 other Forastero types. The size varies according to the part of 

 the fruit occupied by the seeds, those at the ends usually being 

 smaller — and also flatter — than those in the middle; the largest 

 size is seen in the Nicaraguan and Caracas fruits, and the smallest 

 in the Forastero types. 



The colour of the seeds varies from white to deep purple in the 

 same fruit or in fruits from different varieties. Generally the 

 seeds of the Nicaraguan and Caracas varieties are white, those of 

 the Forastero types white or purple, in varying intensity, and 

 those of Amelonado and Calabacillo all deep purple. There is, 

 however, a great variation in the number of white seeds in the 

 first mentioned varieties, and more often than not the cocoa trees 

 on plantations in Ceylon possess fruits with white and purple seeds, 

 or with all the seeds purple. It is very rare that all the seeds in 

 the fruits from one tree are white, even with the Caracas and the 

 more recently introduced Nicaraguan forms, and much of the 

 unevenness in the finished product is to be attributed to this unfor- 

 tunate variation. 



It has been shown by Lock* that out of nearly seven hundred 

 fruits of the Caracas variety about 58 per cent, of them possessed 

 white seeds only, 40 per cent, possessed white and purple seeds, 

 and I "8 per cent, possessed purple seeds only. In the particular 

 set of fruits referred to 847 per cent, of the seeds were white and 

 I4'2 per cent distinctly purple, thus showing that though the 

 reputed original character still predominates, the mixed seeds are 

 becoming very prominent. In most cocoa-growing countries the 

 Cacaras or Criollo type is supposed to possess white seeds only. 

 Similarly a large per centage of the seeds of the Nicaraguan r 

 which are commonly supposed to be white, were found to be mixed, 

 but the white remains predominant in some types of this group. 

 The Forastero types always possess coloured seeds, and though 

 as many as 1 88 per cent, of the fruits contained purple seeds only, 

 none were seen with white seeds only ; the seeds of 1 80 fruits of 

 this group possessed 6r8 per cent, of purple seeds and 37-4 per 

 cent, of white ones, thus proving the existence of a definite quan- 

 titative difference between the Forastero and the preceding Criollo 

 types. The Amelonado and Calabacillo fruits possess 100 per 

 cent. of purple seeds, white ones being unknown in Ceylon. 



* R. H. Lock, Circular, R. B. G. 



