Dr. Axel Preyer 31 



need not be feared. On the other hand, the 

 possibility of sourness must be carefully 

 watched, and if this becomes too pronounced, 

 the liquid must be drained off. After five to 

 seven days, as a rule, the fermentation is 

 finished, and the whole mass is washed. The 

 progress of fermentation is checked by examin- 

 ing small samples obtained when turning over 

 the layers of beans. On account of this, as 

 well as for the drying process that follows 

 it, both the methods of fermentation already 

 described as being used on the Gangaroowa 

 Plantation (Ceylon), and the drying process 

 employed there, are to be recommended. 



Although I have, in the above communi- 

 cation, provided some details regarding the 

 causes of fermentation and the methods 

 employed to induce fermentation in cacao, 

 there still remains a difficult but important 

 point to be solved, viz., the recognition of the 

 chemical changes that take place during the 

 fermentation and drying, and of the inter- 

 mediary and final substances formed during 

 the process. It would still be too risky before 

 even the composition of the fresh cacao bean 

 in its various parts is fully known, to wish 

 to advance chemical hypotheses about the 

 processes and changes that take place during 

 the process of fermentation ; but it is very 

 probable that, later on, the chemist will play 

 an important part in the preparation of cacao 

 on the estates. 



