THEOBROMA 



THEOBROMA 



1793 



oiosa, T. angustifolia and T. bicolor. Theobroma syl- 

 vestris, Aubl. ( T. Martiana, Dietr.) is sometimes re- 

 ferred to as a native, but does not appear to have been 

 recorded by modern writers for Central America and 

 the West Indies. 



Theobroma pfHtmjnna is a species which in vigor of 

 growth and productive capacity resembles to a very 

 large degree the generally cultivated varieties of T. 

 Cacao, but it differs in the flowers, in the size of the 

 beans, and especially in the shape of the pods. The 

 beans are larger in size than those of T. Cacao, fully 

 equal if not superior in flavor, and are capable of being 

 worked up in the same way as the commoner species. 

 This kind is known on the mainland as "Alli- 

 gator '■ Cacao, from the fancied resemblance 

 of its skin to the hide of an alligator. The 

 outside of the pod is soft and easily broken, 

 and does not afford such good protection to 

 the interior as the harder shell possessed 

 by T. Cacao. In Nicaragua T. Cacao and T. 

 pentagona are grown together, and the pro- 

 duce is mostly a mixture of the two species. 

 From the presence of T. pentagona, it is pos- 

 sible that hybridization has taken place be- 

 tween two species. It has been noted that the 

 pods of T. Cacao produce much larger seeds 

 or beans in Nicaragua than in countries 

 where this species is not grown in company 

 with T. pentagona: and the beans of the two 

 species are almost impossible to distinguish 

 when cured together. The product of Nicara- 

 guan plantations also requires much less time 

 for fermentation than the produce of Grenada, 

 Trinidad or Venezuela, some forty-eight hours being 

 the usual period, while more than four times that num- 

 ber of hours will be required for the proper fermenta- 

 tion of the produce of the last mentioned countries. 



Theobroma speciosa is a plant that produces the 

 "Monkey Cacao" of the mainland. This is never made 

 into market Cacao, as it is very inferior in quality and 

 has a disagreeable flavor. The pods are hard, much cor- 

 rugated, warted, and of a dirty brown color wheu ripe. 



Theobroma bicolor is a very distinct species in every 

 way. The leaves are large, and in the juvenile stages 

 of growth are broadly cordate in form, and only assume 

 the mature or oblong form on reaching the third or 

 fourth year's growth. The pods are oval, ribbed and 

 netted, hard and woody, with an outer shell half an inch 

 in thickness which can only be cut with a saw. The 

 seeds are oval, much flattened, with a dark, hard and 

 smooth exterior. The interior is white, and has a some- 

 what nutty flavor. They are used in sweetmeats in the 

 same way as almonds, but cannot be made into com- 

 mercial Cacao, suitable for the manufacture of choco- 

 lates. This species, though without doubt a true Theo- 

 broma, is very widely distinct from any of the varieties 

 of T. Cacao which produce commercial Cacao. The 

 produce of T. bicolor is known in some parts of Central 

 America by the names of "Wariba," "Tiger," and "Pas- 

 taste" Cacao. 



Many names have arisen for the varieties of Theo- 

 broma Cacao which are in cultivation, as many as forty 

 having beeu listed by a Trinidad cultivator of large 

 experience. Looking at the matter from a practical 

 point of view, all these are merely strains of the one 

 species, produced by natural cross-fertilization of the 

 older types. According to Hart's "Cacao," Trinidad, 

 1900, there are but three major strains or classes of T. 

 Cacao, respectively, "Criollo," "Forastero," and "Calaba- 

 cillo." The type of the first is found indigenous in 

 Trinidad and various places on the mainland, its dis- 

 tinctive character being its bottle-necked pod, with a 

 thin skin and finely ribbed exterior, together with its 

 white or whitish seeds or beans, which are mild in 

 flavor and somewhat rounded in form. 



The characters of "Forastero" are its roughly corru- 

 gated or verrucose pod, containing large flatfish seeds, 

 of a purplish color. It is a tree having greater vitality 

 than "Criollo," and gives a much larger crop. "Foras- 

 tero" means foreign, and this type is said to have been 

 found on the mainland of South America, whence it was 

 imported to Trinidad by Arragonese Capuchin Fathers 

 about 1757. (De Verteu'il, History of Trinidad, 1884.) 



"Calabacillo" is the third form, its chief characteris- 

 tics being the vigor of its growth and its small flat and 

 strongly flavored beau. By some it is considered as a 

 degraded form of Forastero. 



While the above gives a brief sketch of the chief 

 characters of the principal types, it must be understood 

 that there are varieties intermediate between the forms; 



The fruit is 8-12 in. long. 

 The tree grows from 10- 3( 

 ft. tall. 



in fact, on the majority of estates it is impossible to 

 find any two trees exactly alike in all their botanioal 

 characters, occurring, without doubt, from the unin- 

 terrupted cross-fertilization which has taken place. 

 Still, each country appears to maintain certain charac- 

 ters more permanent than others, and thus secures for 

 itself a name upon the markets of the world. It is 

 probable that this is due, in a measure, to the uncon- 

 cious preference taken by some to distinctive features 

 of the produce by the continuous cultivation of a fairly 

 fixed strain which has arisen. It may also be due in 

 some measure to the influence of climate and environ- 

 ment. Certain it is, however, that there are to-day 

 strains of Cacao which are possessed of distinctive 

 characters, not readily produced by any process of pre- 

 paration in places other than that in which they are 

 grown. A fine set of illustrations of varieties common 

 to different countries has lately been published in a work 

 by Dr. Paul Preuss, who recently traveled in Cacao-pro- 

 ducing countries on behalf of the German government. 



These different brands are bought by manufacturers 

 and blended to suit their particular market, but there 

 are certain kinds possessing special flavor which are 

 readily sold at high value. The value of the commercial 

 product fluctuates and the price rules considerably 

 lower than some years ago. Whether this results from 

 increased production or from a deterioration in the 

 quality cannot be ascertained. It is clear that if culti- 

 vators grow Cacao for seed without regard to the best 

 rules of selection, the quality must deteriorate. What 

 mitigates this fact is that all the Cacao world has, up 

 to a recent date, followed the same practice. The pro- 

 cess of grafting, to ^vhich the Cacao tree readily sub- 

 mits, as was recently proved in Trinidad, will enable 

 operators to make large fields of the choicer varieties, 

 and it may be confidently expected that in a few years 

 a great improvement will be shown in the various 

 grades placed upon the market. But little Cacao is 

 manufactured in the countries where it is grown, except 

 for home use, and then generally in a crude manner. 



Chocolate is the term used for sweetened and hardened 

 preparations of the roasted and ground Cacao bean, with 



