HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 55 



replace the present laborious method of turning the 

 beans by manual labour. 



The general conditions* for a good fermentation 

 are : 



(1) The mass of beans must be kept warm. 



(2) The mass of beans must be moist, but not 

 sodden. 



(3) In the later stages there must be sufficient air. 



(4) The boxes must be kept clean. 



Changes during Fermentation. 



No entirely satisfactory theory of the changes in 

 cacao due to fermentation has yet been established. It 

 is known that the sugary pulp outside the beans fer- 

 ments in a similar way to other fruit pulp, save that 

 for a yeast fermentation the temperature rises un- 

 usually high (in three days to 47 degrees C.), and also 

 that there are parallel and more important changes in 

 the interior of the bean. The difficulty of establishing 

 a^complete theory of fermentation of cacao has not 

 daunted the scientists, for they know that the roses of 

 philosophy are gathered by just those who can grasp 

 the thorniest problems. Success, however, is so far 

 only partial, as can be seen by consulting the best in- 

 troduction on the subject, the admirable collection of 

 essays on The Fermentation of Cacao, edited by 

 H. Hamel Smith. Here the reader will find the valuable 

 contributions of Fickendey, Loew, Nicholls, Preyer, 

 Schulte im Hofe, and Sack. 



The obvious changes which occur in the breaking 

 down of the fruity exterior of the bean should be care- 

 fully distinguished from the subtle changes in the bean 

 itself. Let us consider them separately: 



(a) Changes in the Pulp. Just as grape-pulp fer- 

 ments and changes to wine, and just as weak wine if 

 left exposed becomes sour ; so the fruity sugary pulp 



* For full details see the pamphlet by the author on The Practice 

 of Fermentation in Trinidad. 



