*7 



CHAPTER II 



CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION 



O tree, upraised in far-off Mexico ! 



" Ode to the Chocolate Tree," 1664. 



HOW seldom do we think, when we drink a cup 

 of cocoa or eat some morsels of chocolate, that 

 our liking for these delicacies has set minds 

 and bodies at work all the world over !'Many types of 

 humanity have contributed to their production. Picture 

 in the mind's eye the graceful coolie in the sun-satur- 

 ated tropics, moving in the shade, cutting the pods 

 from the cacao tree ; the deep-chested sailor helping 

 to load from lighters or surf-boats the precious bags of 

 cacao into the hold of the ocean liner ; the skilful work- 

 man roasting; the beans until thev fill the room with a 

 line aroma ; and the girl with dexterous fingers pack- 

 ing the cocoa or fashioning the chocolate in curious 

 and delicate forms. To the black and brown races, the 

 negroes and the East Indians, we owe a debt for their 

 work on tropical plantations, for the harder manual 

 work would be too arduous for Europeans unused to 

 the heat of those regions. 



Climate Necessary. 



Cacao can only grow at tropical temperatures, and 

 when shielded from the wind and unimpaired by 

 drought. Enthusiasts, as a hobby, have grown the tree 

 under glass in England ; it requires a warmer tem- 

 perature than either tea or coffee, and only after in- 

 finite care can one succeed in getting the tree to flower 



