132 



COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



nib and shell pass through with the germ. This germ 

 mixture, known as " smalls " is dealt with in a special 

 machine 3 whilst the larger nib and shell are conveyed 

 to the chief winnowing machine. In this machine the 



SECTION THROUGH WINNOWING 

 MACHINE. 



mixture is^first sorted according to size and then the 

 nib and shell separated from one another. The mixture 

 is * passed down long revolving cylindrical sieves and 

 encounters a larger and larger mesh as it proceeds, and 

 thus becomes sieved into various sizes. The separation 

 of the shell from the nib is now effected by a powerful 

 current of air, the large nib falling against the current, 

 whilst the shell is carried with it and drops into another 

 compartment. It is amusing to stand and watch the 

 continuous stream of nibs rushing down, like hail in a 

 storm, into the screw conveyor. 



This is the process in essence to follow the various 

 partially separated mixtures of shell and nib through 

 the several further separating machines would be 



