266 TRINIDAD. 



sent to the Great Exhibition, and without further inquiry, Dr. 

 Lindley emphatically pronounces, that the British colonies might 

 supply cacao " quite equal to anything produced in the best 

 markets of the Spanish main, even of Soconusco," and that " it 

 is their own fault if they do not produce fine cocoa." 



Professor Lindley is well known as an eminent botanist, not 

 only in Great Britain, but throughout Europe ; and it is to be 

 regretted that he should have ever expressed such a decided 

 opinion on matters of which he evidently is not fully cognisant, 

 since such opinion can only tend to create and spread abroad false 

 notions and prejudices. 



Undoubtedly Dr. Lindley is fully aware that, if proper atten- 

 tion to culture and preparation can improve the quality of cacao, 

 there exist also " local conditions, that is to say, the tempera- 

 ture, the soil, the exposure, and other circumstances," which have 

 their share in modifying that quality. Moreover, there are two 

 species, or, at least, several varieties of the theobroma, as I have 

 already stated ; and the real fact is, that although Trinidad cacao, 

 prepared for the Spanish or French market, may be classed next 

 to that of Caracas, it is far from being equal to cacao from 

 Orituco, Guigne, Cupira, &c., in the province of Caracas; or 

 from Pedraza, in the province of Varinas, and other places in the 

 province of Maracaybo ; much less, therefore, to cacao from the 

 Valley of Soconusco, which, during the Spanish dominion, was 

 exclusively reserved for the use of the royal family, and is 

 granted, even now, to be as superior to Orituco, as Orituco may 

 be to Trinidad cacao. 



" Enormous quantities of it," says the learned professor, 

 " are now used in the navy, and every one knows how much of it 

 is employed in private life." But, under what form ? I would 

 ask. As an infusion exactly as would be the case, were wheat 

 to be similarly crushed and a beverage made of the meal. Cacaoj 

 to all intents and purposes, must be used as chocolate. The 

 consequence of an opposite practice is, that the finer description 

 of cacao goes to France, Spain, and other countries, there to be 

 made into delicious chocolate, whilst the " unripe, flinty, and 

 bitter" specimens find their way into the British markets ; and, 

 this will continue to be the case, so long as the infusion practice 

 prevails in England and its dependencies. 



" It is their own fault," adds Dr. Lindley, " if our colonies 



