126 



The World's Commercial Products 



heaps on the barn-floor to sweat. Another method is to let the cacao-beans ferment in a 

 basket lined with' banana leaves. 



Fermentation affords the most convenient method of getting rid of the mucilaginous pulp 

 which surrounds the freshly gathered seeds. Internal changes also take place, and the seeds 

 lose to some degree the bitter taste they formerly possessed. The pale-coloured seeds of 

 Criollo cacao become of the nice cinnamon-brown colour so appreciated in the market, whilst 

 the deep purple colouration of Forastero and Calabacillo cacaos is also modified. Another 



change of some importance is 

 that the skin or shell of the 

 seed becomes tougher and so 

 facilitates the subsequent 

 handling, and helps to pre- 

 serve the contents from the 

 inroads of fungi. In some 

 countries fermentation is not 

 practised, but fermented 

 cacaos fetch better prices 

 in the market than the 

 unfermented product. 



Washing. Opinions differ 

 as to the advisability of 

 washing the beans after they 

 have been fermented. It is 

 generally practised in Ceylon, 

 in the Cameroons, and else- 

 where, but not so in the West 

 Indies, for instance, in Trini- 

 dad. Amongst the advan- 

 tages claimed are that it 

 readily removes the remain- 

 ing portions of the pulp and 

 allows the beans to dry more 

 rapidly. Planters who do not 

 favour the practice appear 

 to think that the method in- 

 volves more trouble than the 

 increase, if any, in the price 

 warrants. 



Drying. Whether the 



beans have been washed or 



not they have to be dried. 



The methods of drying cacao> 



practised in different countries or by individual planters in the same country vary considerably. 



They may, however, be resolved into two groups, according to whether the heat of the sun 



is relied on or whether artificial heat is resorted to. 



With a very small crop,, such as a peasant proprietor would obtain from a few trees, the 

 beans can be spread out on the ground or on a tray or piece of matting or cloth, which can 

 readily be picked up and placed under cover should it rain. For a large crop this is impossible 

 unless the seasons are so regular, as, of course, they often are in parts of the tropics, that 

 cbntinued fine weather can be relied on. 



A great advance on this method is to spread the beans out in a thin layer on large platforms 



SHADED CACAO TREES 



