302 COCOA CHAP. 



much skill and is also very tiring, as the labourer has 

 always to keep his face turned upwards. It is a pleasure 

 to see good ' tumbadores ' at work." 



The fruits are opened with a special knife called 

 "pod<5n" (Fig. 101), and a good labourer should be 

 able to open thirty to forty fruits per minute. The 

 beans are scooped from the fruits with the help of an 

 instrument called " costilla," attached to the hand by 

 a short cord (Fig. 101). This work is generally done 



FIG. 102. Drying floor covered with split bamboo, as used in Ecuador. 



by women and children, and the beans are carried to 

 the "hacienda" by mules or donkeys. 



The yield in Los Eios ("Arriba") is estimated by 

 Mr. Seminario to be about 11 quintals or 500 kilograms 

 per hectare (200 kilograms per acre) ; in Guayas and 

 El Oro ("Balao" and "Machala"), by the same 

 authority, about 15 to 20 quintals, or 700 to 920 

 kilograms per hectare (280 to 370 kilograms per acre). 

 This is about the same yield as is obtained in most other 

 cocoa-growing countries. 



The beans are not subjected to any special fermenta- 



