72 



COCOA 



CHAP. 



The colour of the beans is paler than in Forastero, 

 and runs from white to pale violet. The taste is rather 

 sweet, at any rate only slightly bitter, and the beans 

 need only a short time for fermentation, while the 

 quality of the product is always very fine and the 

 market price high. 



As regards the habits of the tree, the Criollo often 

 shows a rather weak growth, at any rate in comparison 

 with the strong, vigorous growth of the Forastero 



FIG. 22. Java Criollo. 



varieties ; and accordingly the leaves are rather small 

 and not very numerous, making the foliage system 

 rather thin. Preuss considers it a typical characteristic 

 of this variety to bifurcate at a low height and to have 

 only a few, generally two or three, main branches. 

 These differences, however, are apparent only when 

 Criollo is grown under conditions which are not in 

 every sense quite favourable. There is no doubt that 

 Criollo is more particular about soil and climate than 

 Forastero, and when the soil is not of best quality, or 

 the conditions are in other respects not first-rate, Criollo 



