COCOA-GROWING COUNTRIES 371 



or Cundeamor, with large round seeds, light coloured 

 and sweet, yielding a produce of fine quality, but not 

 so high priced as the superior Criollo produce. Never- 

 theless, the planters prefer the Trinitario, because of the 

 little care the trees require in comparison to the Criollo, 

 its larger yield, early bearing, resistance to disease, and 

 the easier preparation of the produce. 



Besides, Criollo suffers soon when the season is dry, 

 and trees die from drought, while Forastero is only 

 little damaged ; further, the hot wind which comes from 

 the interior a sort of sirocco damages the Criollo 

 much more than the Forastero. 



This preference for the Trinitario, and the diminish- 

 ing of the quality of the produce which is a consequence 

 of it, has often been a cause of complaint by the manu- 

 facturers. 



Preuss mentions the opinion of a well-known chocolate 

 manufacturer, who wrote to him : l 



The Caracas cacao goes backward in quality since about ten 

 years. We buy always the really first-rate qualities which, are 

 offered for sale, but we have more and more difficulty in obtaining 

 the quantity we need, though we pay 150 to 170 marks, and even 

 more. The really fine aroma and the nice taste, with a little false 

 taste of Swiss cheese, are hardly any more to be obtained. It is 

 with cacao as with other products ; the ordinary quality, produced 

 in large quantities, has improved (it is true that the price has 

 also got much higher), and the very fine quality is going backward, 

 because it does not pay. 



I must confess that I never detected a taste of 

 Swiss cheese in cocoa, whether rough or prepared, but 

 nevertheless the opinion of the manufacturer about the 

 decline in quality is clear. 



The different Venezuelan varieties have been 

 mentioned already in Chapter V. A few particulars 

 may be added here. 



The Venezuelan Criollo has the irregular and very 

 warty appearance of all the true Criollos, with deep 

 furrows. The colour is mostly red, the number of 



1 Preuss, Expedition, p. 226. 



