144 The Fermentation of Cacao 



And now to proceed to the internal 

 fermentation, or the processes enacted in the 

 bean itself. 



As long as the bean lives but remains in a 

 dormant state, no chemical changes of any 

 consequence take place, as the various sub- 

 stances contained in it do not come into contact 

 with each other. The seed, however, is no 

 sooner dead than the substances of which it is 

 composed begin to react upon each other. 



The seed remains alive until the high tem- 

 perature brought about by fermentation kills it ; 

 and in order to determine at what temperature 

 this takes place, the following tests were 

 made : 



The seeds of four ripe cacao pods were 

 thoroughly mixed and twenty of them planted ; 

 as they all germinated they may be taken to 

 represent good germinative seed. 



Ten units were submitted to a temperature 

 of 43 C. for three hours, whereupon they were 

 left to germinate, which they all did. 



Ten units were submitted to a temperature 

 of 43 C. for six hours, and then left to germi- 

 nate ; of these only four germinated, and after 

 having been heated for nine hours not one of 

 the seeds germinated. 



Ten units were heated to 44 C. for six 

 hours ; the germs of these seeds all proved to 

 be dead. 



In the sweating-boxes the temperature on 

 the third day is usually 45 C., and hence from 



