THE CULTIVATION OF COCOA 195 



labourers, consisting of two pickers, one woman to 

 gather the pods into small heaps, and one labourer to 

 collect the small heaps into a larger one. It is said that 

 in the full crop season each gang can gather about 3000 

 fruits daily, giving about 100 kilograms of prepared cocoa. 



The fruits are opened the same day or one or two 

 days later. The opening is done preferably when it is 

 not rainy, for the beans do not ferment so easily when 

 they have been wetted by rain. 



In Ecuador the " tumbadores " (pickers) are often 

 provided with a simple bag for the picked pods. These 



FIG. 64. Two types of cocoa hooks recommended by the author 

 (one-fifth actual size). 



bags are emptied into small heaps, which are later 

 collected into larger ones. 



Breaking. The husks are broken at the large heaps 

 of fruit by labourers, in many countries women (Figs. 65, 

 66). The contents are put into baskets, which are then 

 taken by mules (e.g. in Trinidad, etc.) or in boats (e.g. in 

 Surinam) to the fermenting house. The breaking is 

 generally done by means of the ordinary slightly-curved 

 reaping knife or with a special short one. The women 

 often acquire great dexterity in opening the fruits 

 quickly, holding the fruit in one hand, cutting the husks 

 with one stroke of the knife, and opening the fruit with 

 a twist and jerk. 



