6 COCOA : ALL ABOUT IT. 



Cortes found C ocoa to be one of the principal s ources of 

 jweaklL.^ and the Spaniards for a long time preserved the 

 plantations, until the rich silver mines proved more attractive, if 

 not more remunerative. 



Guatemala is a country of extreme fertility, and produces an 

 abundance of the finest Cocoa ; indeed, the Cocoa of Soconosco 

 has ever held the palm as the royal brand ; here, again, the 

 Spaniards gathered more solid riches from its growth than from 

 any other source, although they despised the land as containing no 

 mines of gold or silver. Vast plantations were found on the 

 plains about the volcano of Guatemala, which, more than once, 

 covered them with its ashes. 



Honduras and Nicaragua both produce large harvests, but 

 their early history is little known, owing to the action of those 

 greedy conquerors whose war of extermination almost destroyed 

 the people and burnt their hieroglyphics, in which lay the history 

 of these peoples. Columbia, from the earliest times, produced 

 large quantities of Cocoa, but as the iiihabitants were fess cryTtrsed 

 than the Mexicans, it only served to feed the parrots and monkeys 

 which swarrned in th e forests ; it is now, however, a great source 

 of wealth and prosperity. 



The valleys of Guayaquil and Quito produce the largest 

 quantities of any districts in the world. Guayaquil Cocoa has a 

 speciality of its own, both in shape and aroma, and is easily 

 distinguished from the Cocoa of other districts. The lower 

 qualities are very strong and coarse in flavour, but the finer beans 

 contain a large percentage of Theobroma, and are much valued on 

 that account. 



