xxii. The Fermentation of Cacao 



these several birds with one stone. Having 

 done so, I can only express the sincere hope 

 that scientific and other experts will take up 

 the tale where my essayists have left off, and 

 carry it on until there is nothing more to be 

 said or learnt on the subject. 



Meanwhile I would ask the readers of these 

 essays to note where the authors agree and 

 where they differ, where at times, as they 

 themselves explain in the Last Word, their 

 views seem almost directly opposed to one 

 another. This, however, I do not think is 

 altogether the case, for whether, as some 

 claim, the loosening and removal of the pulp 

 are the chief objects of the various processes, 

 or if, as others claim, the advent of the air 

 and the oxygen it contains, to the produce, 

 is what should be mainly sought for, and 

 whether you oxidize or dry your cacao in the 

 final process (the air certainly cannot get in 

 the cells if the produce is wet and the cells 

 are full of moisture), the fact or facts remain, 

 that the pulp has to be loosened and got rid 

 of if you want to ship an attractive cacao, 

 and the oxidation has to be encouraged and 

 regulated if you want to export cacao of good 

 commercial quality. I would therefore ask 

 the readers to carefully note where and why 

 opinions agree and differ, as it is of interest 

 and importance for all to know the various 

 authors' past and present views on the subject, 

 and to note where they are of the same opinion 



