sturtevant's notes on edible plants 569 



they constitute the cacao of commerce. Chocolate and cocoa are variously prepared from 

 the nuts. 



When Cortez was entertained at the court of the Aztec Emperor, Monteztuna, he was 

 treated to a sweet preparation of the cocoa, called chocollatl, flavored with vanilla, and 

 other aromatic spices. Cacao was carried to Spain from Mexico, and the Spaniards kept 

 the cacao secret for many years, selling it very profitably as chocolate to the wealthy and 

 luxurious classes of Europe. Chocolate reached France, however, only in 1661 and did 

 not reach Britain imtil a few years later. It is now more largely consumed in Spain than 

 elsewhere in Etirope. The European consumption of chocolate is estimated at quite 

 40,000,000 poimds. In the United States, the imports in 1880 were 7,411,045 pounds. 

 Cacao was cultivated by the nations of Central America before the arrival of Europeans. 

 The Nahua nations used the nibs, or grains, as circulating medium instead of money.' 

 Stephens ^ states that the nuts are still used in Yucatan as currency, as of old, bj' the 

 Indians. After maize, says Landa,' cacao was perhaps the crop to which the most atten- 

 tion was paid. It was called cacaguat in Nicaragua and several species which grew wild 

 were also much used. In the month of Muan, the cacao planters even held a festival in 

 honor of their patron deities Ekohuah, Chac and Hobnil.'' Humboldt ^ states that he 

 met with no tribe on the Orinoco that prepared a beverage with the seeds of the cacao, 

 but the savages sucked the pulp of the pod and threw away the seeds. Hartt ' says the 

 cacao tree is quite extensively cultivated at Bahia but is not often cultivated south of 

 the Amazon. In Jamaica, Lunan ' rates the average produce of cacao per acre at 1000 

 poimds, allowing for bad years. It is called in Mexican cacautl. 

 T. guyanensis Voigt. 



Guiana. This species furnishes a portion of the cacao of the West Indies and South 

 America.* 

 T. speciosa Willd. 



Brazil. In the West Indies, this species replaces cacao and its seeds enter into 

 commerce. ' 



Theophrasta jussieui Lindl. Myrsineae. 



South America and Santo Domingo. The fruit is succulent, and bread is made from 

 the seeds.'" 



Thladiantha dubia Naud. Cucurhitaceae. 



China. The fruit is oblong, very succulent and is eaten by the natives of the Himalayas." 



' Bancroft, H. H. Native Races 2:381. 1882. 



* Stephens, J. L. Trav. Yucatan 2: ig6. 1841. 

 Bancroft, H. H. Native Races 2:718. 1882. 



* Bancroft, H. H. Native Races 2:692. 1882. 

 'Humboldt, a; Trav. 2:58. 1889. 

 Hartt, C.F. Geog. Braz. 244. 1870. 



.'Lunan, J. Hort. Jam. 1:187. 1814. 



Unger, F. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 321. 1859. 



Ibid. 



" Masters, M. T. Treas. Bot. 2:1144. 1870. 

 " Moore, T. Treas. Bot. 2:1145. 1870. 



