CHARACTERS INDICATING RIPENESS IN FRUITS 115 



mitted to a certain amount of fermentation will obviously 

 require a shorter further period of fermentation than 

 the properly ripened beans. Consequently an uneven 

 sample is obtained, and unless very careful grading is 

 practised the commercial value of the product will be 

 depreciated. 



Characters of Ripe Fruit. Unless very great care is 

 exercised by the pickers a certain amount of both over- 

 ripe and under-ripe fruits will be harvested. These 

 should be sorted out from the bulk and the beans taken 

 from them should be fermented separately. 



The external appearance of a properly ripened fruit 

 varies considerably in different varieties. In all varieties, 

 however, when the fruit is ripe the beans detach them- 

 selves in a mass from the fruit -wall, and when the 

 latter is rapped smartly a hollow sound is heard ; if 

 immature fruits are similarly treated only a dull sound 

 is heard. 



The colour of the ripe fruits of different varieties varies 

 from a pale canary-yellow to a dark chocolate-red. 



The six varieties of fruits illustrated in Plates 1 and 2 

 vary in this manner. Nos. n, in, iv, and v are of 

 different shades of yellow, while Nos. I and vi are 

 different shades of red. 



When cross-fertilisation has taken place, a tree which 

 usually produces fruits of a yellow colour when ripe may 

 have some fruits tinged with red. This is another 

 important reason why different varieties should be 

 separated in the plantation. For example, when several 

 varieties which produce fruits all of different shades of 

 yellow when ripe are mixed together in the plantation, 

 it is inconceivable that the average estate labourer will 

 be able to discriminate between them and decide what 

 shade of yellow indicates ripeness of the fruit of each 

 variety. 



Nor is the method of tapping fruits to ascertain their 

 degree of ripeness always practicable or even possible. 

 Far too much time would be lost if the pickers were sent 

 into the plantations with instructions not to harvest 

 fruits which did not give, when tapped, the characteristic 

 sound which is indicative of maturity. 



Collection. It is preferable to collect frequently, 

 especially during the biggest crop season. This will 



