PRODUCTS WE MIGHT GROW. Ill 



pressed with the fingers. Between the outside covering of 

 the fruit and the berries is a gummy-like sweetish 

 substance. To get rid of this, the fruit is allowed to lie in 

 masses until a slight fermentation sets in. The mass is 

 then washed to get rid of the gum, and the fruit spread 

 out in the sun or shade, as occasion may require. Around 

 each is a dry, parchment-like wrapper, and when this is 

 dry the fruit is passed between rollers that separate the 

 beans from the skins. In dry weather the berries dry up 

 when exposed freely to the air, and the tough outside 

 covering can then be removed by rubbing the berries. The 

 flavour of Australian coffee (roasted in the usual way) 

 thus prepared is very fine. 



COCOA Cacao or Chocolate. Cocoa, from which the 

 chocolate of commerce is made, is obtained, in the form of 

 seed-pods, from a handsome tree. In its nature this plant is 

 even more tropical than coffee, but it fruits in the northern 

 sections of Australia. The seeds are sown as soon as 

 possible after they are gathered, as they soon spoil for 

 germinating upon becoming dry ; as do the seeds of most 

 pines and some other plants. The growth of seedlings and 

 transplanting is much the same as coffee. Cocoa trees in 

 the plantation should stand apart ten to fifteen feet, 

 according to the richness of the soil, twelve feet being a 

 good average distance. In the fourth year a fair crop may 

 be expected. The fruit must be quite ripe before it is 

 gathered. When ripe it has a pale yellowish colour. 

 After being picked, it is allowed to lie in heaps for about 

 twenty-four hours. Then the pods are cut open, and 

 the pulpy mass of seeds taken out and put into baskets 

 to drain. As soon as this drainage of what becomes an 

 acid pulp has ceased, the mass is emptied into boxes, 

 in which " terrage " (a property of sweating) continues 

 for thirty-six or forty-eight hours. After removal 

 from the sweating places, the seeds are freed from 

 any adhering matter, and spread out loosely to dry in 

 the sun, l>eing turned over very frequently. This process 

 of drying occupies al>out three weeks and when complete 

 the seeds should be of a fine dark red colour. The 

 produce of a tree, when prepared, ranges from five to eight 



