155 



COLOUR OF SEEDS. 



Variety of 

 Cocoa. 



Fruits with 



white 

 seeds only. 



Fruits with Fruits with 

 purple mixed seeds 

 seeds only. 1 purple 



and white. 



Nicaraguan 

 Caracas 

 Forastero 

 Amelonado 



Per cent. 

 48-2 

 579 



00 

 00 



Per cent. 



188 



1-8 



184 



100 



Per cent. 

 330 



403 

 816 

 000 



Percentage 



number of 



white seeds 



in fruits. 



Per cent. 

 64 



847 

 37 4 

 00 



Per centage 



number 



of distinctly 



purple seeds 



in fruits. 



Per cent. 

 36 

 14 2 



618 

 100 



According to Hart, the Criollo or Caracas variety in Trinidad 

 possesses white or nearly colourless seeds, a feature associated 

 with the seeds of the same variety in Java, Ceylon, and Central 

 America, and also by the produce of Theobroma penlagona; reference 

 to the per centage number of purple seeds is not made, though it 

 may be assumed that on most estates cultivating many varieties 

 they occur. Regarding Nicaraguan, Hart states that though the 

 Criollo is the predominant type and the seeds are usually white 

 in section, there appears to be a perceptible increase in the colour 

 of the seeds and this he associates with the proximity of the 

 Criollo with the Forastero types. The Venezuelan* cocoa is 

 mainly white-seeded and produces a cured cocoa of good colour 

 and distinct high-class flavour without any bitter taste. 



The variation in thickness and weight of the seed integuments 

 has been dealt with elsewhere, and it is only necessary to mention 

 that the thinnest integuments are found around seeds from Nicar- 

 aguan and Caracas fruits, and the thickest in the Amelonado and 

 Forastero types. 



THE PARTS OF A COCOA BEAN, AND SEED SELECTION. 



The fresh cocoa seed consists of a watery white pulp on the 

 outer surface of a tough integument, the latter enclosing two stout 

 cotyledons which form the greater part of the embryo and are 

 usually known as the kernel. Roughly the kernel is only respon- 

 sible for half the total weight of the fresh seed, the pulp of the 

 latter often being considerable. The weight of the seeds varies 

 with the variety and other factors, the large plump ones being 

 much heavier than the others. The weight of the cured seeds of 

 different varieties is not constant, but the following table shows 

 the average weight of several thousands of seeds of four varieties 

 grown at the Experiment Station, Peradeniya : — 



TABLE I. 



Variety. 



Forastero-Cundeamor 

 Caracas 

 Amelonado 

 Nicaraguan 



Weight in grams. 



I 01 to I 26 



I 19 to 1.35 



I 00 to I 10 



I 31 to I- 80 



Annual Report, Botanic Department, Trinidad, 1904. 



