180 The Fermentation of Cacao 



efficacious plan is to pierce the bottom with 

 a sufficient number of ^ in. auger holes. For 

 concrete boxes a bottom sloping down to a 

 long narrow slit of an exit is preferable. 



Much inadequate fermentation of cacao is 

 due to an insufficient and carelessly arranged 

 leaf cover. It is a simple matter to observe 

 with a thermometer the loss in heat that takes 

 place in five minutes by the removal of the 

 leaf cover from a box of strongly fermenting 

 cacao ; such a loss immediately reacts on the 

 fermenting organisms, lessening their beneficial 

 action. Of course, heat is only a symptom of 

 beneficial fermentation, but it is the most 

 important symptom and its readings spell 

 either success or failure. The most suitable 

 covering for sweating boxes is. the leaf of the 

 wild plantain (ffeliconia bikai) s commonly 

 called Balissier in French patois. Other 

 leaves used in the West Indies are banana, 

 plantain and tania. When fermentation proves 

 difficult and incomplete it is much assisted by 

 lining the bottom and sides of the box with 

 wild plantain or banana leaves. As the heat 

 generated in the first and second boxes is 

 generally not much in excess of the atmo- 

 spheric heat, the omission of the leaf cover from 

 those boxes is recommended as allowing free 

 access to the " cacao fly" (described by Dr. 

 Nicholls), and thereby ensuring a more com- 

 plete inoculation of the fermenting yeasts. 



Another most important factor is a thorough 



