PICKING. 31 



field. The pods are broken without the aid of either cutlass or 

 knife, by being clashed on a large hard wood log, upon which the 

 operator sirs , and the beans are picked out and taken to the 

 sweating boxes, and the, shells carried away, by attendant 

 women and girls. 



If superior samples of Cacao are intended to be made, it is 

 very important that the breakers should be instructed to carry 

 out strictly a sorting process which will separate the ripe from 

 the unripe beans, and the different varieties from one another, 

 for it is possible to make a much more even sample, by giving 

 due attention at this stage, than b} 7 any other moans, for from 

 the appearance of . the sweet pulp surrounding it, the condition 

 of the interior of the bean can be correctly estimated. 



Among the planters of Trinidad there are man} 7 who are 

 well alive to the importance of making improvements in the 

 process employed for curing Cacao, but as a rule their oiibrts are 

 met by considerable prejudice in favour of the old rule-of-th^mb 

 methods, and any one trying to make an improvement, is subject 

 at times to no little ridicule on that account, from those who 

 should bo among the first to know better, and therefore il is a 

 bard fight to get required reforms into working order. With 

 t'ie small settler il is doubtful if the classification of produce 

 could be carried out to any real advantage, so long as each 

 producer undertakes the curing of his own crop ; but were a 

 system of central factories established, a system of classification 

 could be efficiently carried out, and the general character of the 

 produce greatly improved. Large owners hold generally the 

 view, that a system of classification, does not pay, owing to the 

 increased cost of labour necessary to carry it out. Whether this 

 is a true view, or not is best shown by the fact, that in the 

 markets of the world we always find that we must produce a 

 first class article to obtain a name, and to obtain a name, means 

 to obtain a profit above our competitors ; but we certainly can 

 never obtain a name unless we make a first class article. To 

 make a first class article in any trade or business, is well known 

 in the long run to pay much better than to make ordinary 

 produce. There can be no doubt that many improvements in 

 the curing of produce can be effected if the necessary stud} 7 is 

 given to the subject by intelligent men, and the curing of Cacao 

 certainly forms no exception to the rule. Classification of 

 produce of course would be governed greatly by the character of 

 that produce, but still even with crops of the most mixed 

 character, it is still possible to prepare produce for the market 

 which would exhibit a great improvement on the ordinary out- 

 turn, by careful selection of the pods in the field or better, by 

 selection of beans during the process of shelling. 



