29f 



No. 76. Cola or Kola Nuts {Gola acuminata^ CASE 

 Schott and Endl.), the seeds of a small tree, native of West X4:. 

 Tropical Africa, naturalized in the West Indies. Powdered 

 cola nuts thrown into foul water are said to possess the 

 virtue of clarifying it and rendering it agreeable to the 

 taste. They are chiefly used, however, to satisfy the 

 craving of hunger and enable those who eat them to 

 endure prolonged labour without fatigue. The Cola seed 

 or " nut " is highly esteemed by the natives of Tropical 

 Africa and enters largely into the social and dietetic 

 economy of their daily life. Cola paste, similar to 

 chocolate, is prepared from the ground seeds which con- 

 tain about 2 per cent, of cafiCeine. 



No. 77. Cocoa or Chocolate {Thedbroma Cacao, 

 L.). A small tree of Central and South America, culti- 

 vated to a large extent throughout the tropics of both 

 hemispheres, particularly in the West Indies, the chief 

 places being Trinidad, Venezuela, and Grenada, and 

 latterly Ceylon, Jamaica and Lagos. There are numerous 

 well-marked varieties divided into two groups known in 

 the West Indies as FORASTERO and Criollo Cacao. The 

 fruit contains many seeds closely packed in pulp. These 

 after being removed from the pods are fermented and 

 rubbed (or in some cases washed) and afterwards care- 

 fully dried in the sun. The cocoa or chocolate of shops 

 is prepared by roasting the seeds which are afterwards 

 ground between hot cylinders to a paste (for chocolate) or 

 mixed with sugar, starch, &c. (for cocoa). CocOA NiBS 

 consist of the seeds merely broken. OIL of Theobroma 

 or Cacao Butter is expressed from the seeds and 

 used medicinally. A collection of specimens of Cocoa 

 from various countries, with its different preparations, 

 presented by Messrs. Fry & Sons, is here exhibited. In 

 1905, 54,565,589 lbs. of raw cocoa were imported into the 

 United Kingdom, 46,496,174 lbs. being entered for home 

 consumption. 



Theobroma speciosa, Willd. is cultivated in Gruatemala. 

 It is the Tabasco Cacao of the Atlantic slopes of Central 

 America, and probably identical with the celebrated 

 SOCUNUSCO Cacao of the Pacific slopes. The latter is 

 supposed to be the best Cacao known, and little, if any, 

 finds its way into foreign markets. 



