VARIETIES OF COCOA 75 



deep ; they are pointed at the apex but not acuminate, 

 and the base is, as in all Criollo, unconstricted. 



The seeds are as a rule nearly circular in transverse 

 section, though there is a good deal of variation in this 

 respect. Generally the colour is white, but a certain 

 percentage is bright purple or crimson within. 1 It is 

 estimated that a little more than 50 per cent contain 

 only white seeds, some 40 per cent contain mixed seeds, 

 and a very small percentage have only purple seeds. 

 The average number of seeds per pod is about twenty- 

 nine. 



Lock remarks that " the trees of this variety are of 

 a distinctly smaller and weaker habit than those of the 

 Forastero kinds ; they are also reputed to bear smaller 

 leaves, but according to my experience this distinction 

 is not clearly marked." 



It seems that the true " Old Ked " is no longer so 

 very common in Ceylon, and that it is being replaced 

 more and more by the Forastero. 



Java Criollo (Figs. 21, 22). This variety has been 

 for many years the only one grown in Java. A very 

 interesting and thorough investigation of this variety 

 has been made by Zehntner, 2 who gives a clear review 

 of its characteristics. It is very pure and constant, 

 closely resembling, if not identical with, the Venezuela 

 Criollo. This is remarkable, because all the trees at 

 present grown in Java are descendants of a few trees, 

 perhaps even of one tree, imported as early as the 

 sixteenth century. The fact that the characteristics of 

 Venezuela and Java Criollo are still so much alike 

 shows that both varieties have changed very little in 

 the course of three centuries. This gives support to 

 Preuss's view 3 that the Criollo in Venezuela is very 

 constant and has no tendency to be spoiled by mixing 

 with Forastero. 



" The pods of Java Criollo are broad, not narrowed 



1 Lock, loc. cit. p. 389. 



2 Zehntner, " Mededeelingen, etc." (Proef station te Salatiga, Bull. No. 9}. 



3 Preuss, Expedition, p. 226. 



