FERMENTATION AND DRYING 219 



are in use on many plantations, especially in Surinam 

 and Trinidad. 



A few of the best known of these dryers 

 may be shortly described. 1 One of the 

 most simple consists of a large wooden box, 

 slightly inclined, in which a series of sieve- 

 like trays are placed, one above the other. 

 The bottom of the box rests on a furnace, 

 surrounded by a covering of bricks. The 

 hot air escapes through openings in this 

 brickwork and enters the box, leaving it 

 again at the top. It is obvious, however, 

 that if the cocoa were simply placed on these 

 trays and left, it would be very irregularly 

 treated ; the beans on the tray nearest to 

 the furnace would be exposed to a much 

 higher temperature than those above it. It 

 is therefore necessary to be continually 

 changing the position of the trays, and 

 workmen must be kept busy removing the 

 trays from below and placing them in the 

 upper part of the box, and vice versa. This 

 makes the drying expensive, and calls for 



continuous superin- 



tendence, but the ad- 

 vantage of the appar- 

 atus is its simplicity : 

 no steam - engine is 

 needed, and the planter 

 may construct it him- 

 self. It is therefore 

 suitable for very small 

 plantations, and a form 

 called " Mayfarth's 

 Patent," made in 

 Germany, is in use to a certain extent in Surinam. 



The cocoa is brought into the apparatus immediately 



I? 



"0 



1 A good description of a few types is given by Fauchere, Culture 

 p. 107, and by Hart, Cacao (1911), chap. xv. 



ique, 



