46 



COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



hi 



L/uV, 



(i) Common Type of Cacao Picker. 

 (2) Agostini Cacao Picker. 



out of the question, 

 and a knife on a pole 

 is used for cutting off 

 the pods on the upper 

 branches. Various 

 shaped knives are used 

 by different planters, a 

 common and efficient 

 kind (see drawing), 

 resembles a hand of 

 steel, with the thumb 

 as a hook, so that the 

 pod-stalk can be cut 

 either by a push or a 

 pull. A good deal of 

 ingenuity has been 

 expended in devising 

 a " foolproof" picker 

 which shall render 

 easy the cutting of 

 the pod-stalk and yet 

 not cut or damage the 

 bark of the tree. A 

 good example is the 

 Agostini picker, which 

 was approved by 

 Hart. 



The gathering of 

 the fruits of one's 

 labour is a pleasant 

 task, which occurs 

 generally only at rare 

 intervals. Cacao is 

 gathered the whole 

 year round. There is, 

 however, in most dis- 

 tricts one principal 

 harvest period, and 

 a subsidiary harvest. 



