Dr. Axel Preyer 7 



and a thin layer of earth. The drawbacks of 

 this process, especially in rainy weather, are 

 too obvious to need discussing. Instead of 

 using these earth holes, others erect cemented 

 pits inside the warehouses, which, after being 

 filled, are likewise covered with banana leaves 

 and form a great improvement over the holes 

 in the ground. Other planters use casks or 

 wooden cases for fermentation ; others, again, 

 pile the beans in large heaps on the floors 

 of the warehouses, covering the heaps first 

 with banana leaves and then with bags or 

 thick cloths over the leaves. 1 The spreading 

 out of the beans on tables or trays, or in 

 regular layers 10 to 20 cm. high, is a process 

 very much to be recommended. These layers 

 are covered with banana leaves and cloths, 

 after which boards are laid on them. The 

 advantage of this method consists in a 

 moderate and very uniform heating of the 

 whole mass." 



The preparation of cacao on the Bimbia 

 Plantation in the Cameroons is described in 

 an earlier issue of this Journal (Der Tropen- 

 ftanzer, second year, 1898, p. 9). 



E. Friederici says " that if the three tank 

 method is used, the whole fermentation takes 

 about sixty hours, and the cacao heaps are 

 turned about at least twice a day at noon and 



1 See Dr. Preyer's illustration of a cacao-sweating 

 tank, p. 30. 



