472 STANDARD PRODUCTS OF CEYLOX 



Helopeltis. The pods must be cut oft, not pulled or torn ; they are 

 collected into heaps, then cut or broken open (shelling), the seeds 

 (also known as "beans" or "nibs") being afterwards carried to the 

 curing house, where they are heaped to undergo fermentation for 

 about rive or six clays, the heaps being turned every other clay. 

 In Ceylon, but not always in other countries, the 

 seeds are then well washed to get rid of the 

 mucilage surrounding them, then dried either in 

 the sun on barbecues, or under a movable roof. 

 The drying process occupies from three to six 

 days, according to the weather. Colouring the 

 beans with clay, brick-dust, etc., is often practised 

 in the West Indies and Venezuela in order to give 

 them a fancy but fictitious appearance and polish; 

 for this purpose annatto dye also is sometimes 

 PRUNING HOOK. used. Polishing the seeds is generally essential for 

 the sake of good appearance in the trade, and this is 

 usually accomplished by rubbing them with the hands, or sometimes 

 by "dancing" among them with bare feet, as is done in the West 

 Indies. 



Yield. The first crop is obtained in the fourth or fifth year 

 from planting, but the trees will not be in full bearing until ten or 

 twelve years old. Two crops a year are produced, the principal 

 one (in Ceylon) from October to December, and the other from 

 April to June. In a plantation, however, a few fruits will usually 

 be found throughout the year. The yield should not be less than 

 from 6 to 7 cwt. of cured beans per acre, though about 9 cwt. per 

 acre is sometimes obtained.* An average crop of fifty pods per 

 tree is considered good, but certain trees under very favourable 

 circumstances may bear as many as 400 to 500 pods. " Forastero" 

 pods contain on an average 32 to 35 seeds each. Fifteen average 

 pods may be expected to give 1 Ib. of made cocoa. 



The Cacao tree was introduced into Ceylon about 1819, but 

 its systematic cultivation was not undertaken till about 1878, 

 when the first export of 10 cwt. (from 300 acres) was recorded. 

 The present area under the product in Ceylon is estimated at 

 approximately 28,000 acres, with an export of about 70,000 cwt. 

 valued at over 200.000 ; the market price at present ranges from 

 60s. to 90s per cwt. according to quality and demand. The Gold 

 Coast now shows the largest export of cacao of any country. 



*An average of 9i cwt. for 800 acres has been obtained on Kondesalle Estate, Ceylon, in 1909, 



