The Last Word 275 



notes were written in Munich on February 18, 

 1913, before the other essays had been trans- 

 lated and put into type. According to Dr. 

 Loew, there can hardly exist any doubt that 

 the fermentation of cacao was originally prac- 

 tised solely for the purpose of loosening the 

 substances to be found between the pulp and 

 the seed-coat. This leads to a ready removal 

 of the attached pulp tissue, and thus a rapid 

 drying process is insured, which is necessary 

 in order to prevent the seeds becoming 

 mouldy. 



At the same time, however, changes in the 

 cotyledons of the seed are produced during the 

 fermentation, which finally lead to the develop- 

 ment of the aroma. The chemical nature of 

 this aroma has not yet been decided. It may 

 be an ether-like compound or a ketone, or 

 an aldehyde of the aromatic series, like e.g., 

 vanillin is. It would be an object of con- 

 siderable interest to reveal the mother sub- 

 stance of the fine flavour peculiar to cacao. 



So far the most important report on the 

 subject, from a practical standpoint, is that of 

 Mr. Hudson in the prize essay on the " Fer- 

 mentation, Curing and By-products of Cacao." 

 An experience of twenty years' cacao fermen- 

 tation has been made careful use of and pre- 

 sented for our consideration. In regard to 

 the aroma, this report contains a sentence of 

 special importance, viz. : " The higher the tem- 

 perature attained and maintained for some days 



