

Preface xxiii. 



and when they find it necessary to criticize 

 each other. "When doctors disagree the 

 patient gets well." I am, as just stated, not 

 at all certain that the doctors have disagreed 

 in this case, but if they have then all the 

 better, if the old saying goes for anything, 

 for then we shall know for certain that the 

 future health and prosperity of the plantation 

 cacao industry are assured. 



In these days of rush and hustle, when 

 nature and civilization alike are supposed to 

 move to time and obey man's wishes and 

 orders whether they are reasonable and possi- 

 ble or not, I would like to call attention to Dr. 

 Sack's remarks on p. 151 regarding the dis- 

 advantage of rapid drying. Dr. Sack tells us : 

 " This experiment at the same time made it 

 quite clear why the old method, by which the 

 drying was done slowly, yielded a product 

 which far surpassed in quality the cacao, that 

 was rapidly dried, for with a slow process of 

 drying the reactions will continue for some 

 considerable time. With rapid drying they 

 will speedily cease." 



I have always maintained that produce can 

 be, and often is, dried far too quickly, but was 

 unable to explain why. Dr. Sack's essay, 

 however, and the book generally, will, I think, 

 show that the mere evaporation of surplus 

 moisture is not the chief object sought after, 

 and that if you want to bring out and generally 

 develop the aroma and flavour of your beans, 



