Dr. Lucius Nicholls 235 



and thus plump it up. The latter are of an 

 uneven light colour and appear shrunken : 

 upon breaking them it is found that the bean 

 is tough and the fracture is delayed, its interior 

 colour is a harsh purple and has not suffused 

 to the testa, which is very adherent to the 

 kernel and has little masses of unremoved 

 saccharine pulp attached to it. In the sweated 

 seed the fracture is easy and sharp, showing- 

 it to be of a very brittle nature, the interior 

 colour is a rich chocolate, the kernel is not 

 adherent to and is easily removed from the 

 testa. 



The Losses and Gains in the Constituents of Cacao 

 when undergoing Fermentation. 



It is practically impossible to estimate the 

 exact losses and relative gains in cacao beans 

 undergoing fermentation ; the reason being 

 that there is no unvarying factor present, from 

 which we are able to get the proportions. 



It has been usual to consider the fats in 

 cacao as remaining unaltered in amount during 

 fermentation and drying, but although they 

 are the least affected of the constituents there 

 is undoubtedly a slight loss. The melting 

 point of oleum theobromae is from 28 to 

 32 C. (82 90 F.) and the higher of 

 these temperatures is always reached not only 

 in the fermentation, but also during the drying 

 and dancing processes ; the result is that the 

 fats ooze through the testa and thus to the 

 trays and the sides of the dancing vessels. 



