152 Kansas Academy of Science. 



The taste for the cocoa products, including chocolate, is 

 gradually increasing since it was first introduced in this coun- 

 try about 150 years ago. The cacao bean, from which cocoa 

 and chocolate are made, is grown especially in Mexico and 

 tropical sections of South America. The amount consumed 

 annually is 179,364,091 pounds. 



The total value of foodstuffs imported annually is over 

 $380,000,000. It is evident that all of this is not by any means 

 a necessary addition to our food supply, but it is imported be- 

 cause trade conditions make it profitable to do so. 



The United States Department of Agriculture is doing a 

 commendable work in sending agents to different parts of the 

 world to search for food plants that may be profitably grown 

 in the United States and in encouraging the cultivation of 

 some little-known plants. Some of these will no doubt ulti- 

 mately be cultivated here in large quantities, and will in this 

 way decrease the dependence of this country on a foreign food 

 market. 



University of Kansas, Lawrence. 



