280 The Fermentation of Cacao 



and planters alike, and then put to practical 

 tests until a certain method is evolved by 

 which all planters at each centre can prepare 

 their beans or other produce in such a way 

 that it can be bulked and sold to type for 

 shipment, no matter whether produced by a 

 dozen large estates or a hundred small ones. 

 This is a time of standardization, of big con- 

 cerns and large orders ; those planters, there- 

 fore, who want to secure the full value of their 

 produce must give the buyers the type of 

 cacao, or other produce that they, the buyers, 

 want, and not what is easiest for the estates to 

 to turn out. 



Having done with these criticisms, I would 

 like to call your attention to the following which 

 appeared in the West Indian Agricultural 

 Neivs of March 15, 1913, p. 91. When speak- 

 ing of the nature of cacao fermentation, we are 

 told that recently communicated to the Chemi- 

 cal Society and published in their journal for 

 November, 1912, is an important paper by 

 Bainbridge and Davies (of Messrs. Rowntree 

 and Co., Ltd.) entitled 4< The Essential Oil 

 of Cacao." 



Much of the information it contains is purely 

 of scientific interest, but those matters dealt 

 with which are likely to prove useful and 

 interesting to the cacao grower have been 

 abstracted as follows : 



The essential oil was obtained in the investi- 

 gation by the distillation of cacao nibs. It 



