Dr. A. Schulte im Hofe 103 



and when the pods become over ripe the 

 beans start to germinate inside the husk. 

 They do not therefore remain at the same 

 stage of ripeness for any length of time, as 

 is the case with some other kinds of fruit. 

 Hence even if the beans are allowed to con- 

 tinue to ripen after the pods are gathered, 

 as is done in some isolated cases, no uniform 

 product is obtained. This fact must be 

 allowed for just as it has to be in the case 

 of tea. 



The Fermentation of Cacao. 



On all plantations, even those worked on 

 the most primitive lines and owned by 

 natives, the beans are piled into heaps or 

 placed in casks, or other receptacles, or 

 special fermentation boxes, as soon as the 

 husk of the pod has been removed. In 

 many cases the natives are in the habit of 

 leaving the beans to their own devices with- 

 out any mixing, or turning over when being 

 fermented. I have had the opportunity on 

 several occasions of observing in such cases 



o 



how the acetic fermentation has acted in a 

 satisfactory manner in the upper or outer 

 layers, whilst deeper down the beans have 

 not yet passed beyond the stage of alcoholic 

 fermentation, and that indeed even this has 

 not penetrated into the centre of the beans. 

 The beans thus fermented were then dried, 

 but it must be obvious to anybody that an 



