INTRODUCTION. 



Three years ago the writer ventured to place before the public some 

 details respecting; the cultivation and use of Cocoa, and he hxs 

 since been enabled to collect much new, and as he believes, valuable 

 information. Few early books treat accurately or exhaustively of 

 the subject, but nearly all the earlier travellers and settlers refer to 

 Cocoa as an important article of consumption in South America and 

 Mexico, long before it was known in Europe. A number of extracts 

 have been made from publications and manuscripts in the British 

 Museum and elsewhere, and exact copies of some very rare plates have 

 been produced by the photo-zinco process, which it is hoped will prove 

 of general interest. 



We owe much to adventurous navigators and explorers for luxuries 

 that have now become a necessity of civilisation, and to capitalists who 

 have made use of their wealth to develop and improve the cultivation 

 of now familiar products. 



Vast tracts of rich alluvial soil still remain uncultivated, and are 

 likely, if properly utilized for generations to come, to be at once means 

 of employment and sources of supply ; and it is generally admitted 

 that Cocoa claims probably more attention than any other food product 

 throughout the tropical zone in which it flourishes. 



