390 



CACAO PLANT. 



usually to the height of about 20 feet, though sometimes it 

 attains an elevation of 30 or 40 feet ; its leaves are large, oblong, 

 and pointed ; whilst its flowers are small, and of a pale red. The 

 calyx consists of five sepals of a deep red; and within these is a 



corolla formed of 

 five petals, the form 

 of which is peculiar. 

 They are broad and 

 channelled into a 

 sort of gutter at 

 their lower part, in 

 the middle they are 

 extremely narrow- 



145. FLOWER OF THEOBROMA CACAO. , ,., . 



1. Complete flower; a, a, the petals ; 6. 6, the petal-like *d; and they expand 



stamens ; 2, the tube formed by the adhesion of the stamens, again towards the 



cut open, showing the five true stamens alternating with ., ... 



five abortive ; 3, pistil, with a single style composed of five Summit, at WlllCll 



adherent carpels, and surmounted by five separate stigmas, they adhere. The 



stamens form a tube, on the upper end of which the five that 

 bear anthers alternate with the other five that have a narrow 

 petalline form ; and the latter, in the complete flower, are seen 

 projecting above the ring formed by the adhesion of the top of 

 the petals. The pistil is formed on the same general plan as in 

 the Malvaceae, consisting of five adherent carpels, each of which 

 has its own style and separate stigma ; but the ovules are nume- 

 rous, varying from 20 to 100 in the whole capsule. 



556. The fruit, when ripe, is a long oval, of which the sur- 

 face is covered with rounded eminences, and is marked by ten 

 furrows; its interior cavity is simple, in consequence of the 

 obliteration of the original partitions ; and the seeds are grouped 

 round a central column. They are imbedded in a sort of mealy 

 pulp, which, although sweetish, has a disagreeable flavour. 

 This pulp is sometimes removed from the seeds by washing, after 

 which they are dried in the sun ; and sometimes, in order to get 

 rid of it, they are buried in the soil, until it is detached by 

 decomposition. The seeds are then prepared by roasting, after 

 which their hard husks are easily detached ; and the fleshy 

 interior is beaten up into a smooth paste, which is afterwards 



