2io The Fermentation of Cacao 



Beyond possessing a deterrent effect on 

 mildew it cannot be said to constitute an 

 improvement in curing, neither does it add 

 materially to the weight, as the quantity of 

 powdered earth used rarely exceeds i per cent, 

 of the cacao weight, the value of which does 

 not cover the cost of the materials plus the 

 labour involved. Originally this plan was 

 practised by a few estates turning out a 

 superior high-class sample, and the higher 

 prices obtained were doubtless more due to 

 this fact than to the addition of coloured earth. 

 Nowadays many shippers of inferior cacao use 

 " clay," and it is no longer a hall-mark of good 

 quality ; its use, therefore, is not recommended. 1 



FEET POLISHING, OR " DANCING." 



Cacao is generally fit for "polishing" on 

 the morning of the third or fourth day's drying. 

 If attempted at too early a stage the gloss 

 attained will be poor and evanescent owing 

 to the presence of too much moisture in the 

 seed, while if delayed over long the seeds 

 become too brittle and are liable to crush 

 under the process of polishing, which consists 

 really of rupturing the oil cells just beneath 



1 Unless it is to hide outer defects of the beans ; the 

 tendency of late has been to send less clayed cacao, 

 especially Venezuelan, to market. One of the leading 

 American makers seems to be especially averse to pay 

 for the extra weight, even if it only amounts to i per 

 cent., as Mr. Hudson claims. H. H. S. 



