COMMERCE 489 



even very inferior. This is almost wholly in con- 

 sequence of the attacks of the " cacao-moth," the enemy 

 which causes every year enormous losses, and makes 

 the pods either totally worthless or spoils the beans. 

 These injured beans are also fermented and cured, but 

 yield a produce of inferior quality. 



Jamaica 



Jamaica cocoa belongs to the better sorts, but the 

 produce is not very uniform, and the quality is not 

 quite equal to Trinidad, although much like it. 



Surinam 



The same can be said of the quality of Surinam 

 cocoa. This produce, however, is very uniform. Very 

 little of this sort comes to the market. Almost the 

 whole crop is sold to local merchants who are agents 

 of special American manufacturers. 



There are, generally speaking, only two qualities : 

 plantation cocoa and the produce of the small pro- 

 prietors. The plantation cocoa is very uniform ; the 

 bean is flat and dark coloured, well fermented and well 

 dried ; the produce of the small proprietors is less 

 uniform, and generally incompletely fermented and 

 dried ; the price paid for it, however, is only a little 

 lower. 1 



Haiti 



Haiti cocoa belongs, like " Samana " cocoa of the 

 neighbour republic, San Domingo, to the ordinary sorts, 

 but it is inferior to the Samana". Very careless pre- 

 paration, very little uniformity, dirty admixtures, make 

 merchants and manufacturers often afraid to buy this 

 cocoa. 



Kamerun 



Kamerun cocoa is of ordinary quality, and may be 

 compared with Bahia cocoa. A great part is of very 



1 The information given by some handbooks, that the lowest quality of 

 Surinam cocoa is a produce of Avild-growing cocoa, is a mistake. 



