22 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 



mies of agriculture the people of Vene- 

 zuela are probably not in advance of those 

 who scratched and scraped the earth before 

 the deluge. A people that will plough 

 with a forked stick, and plant corn with an 

 iron crow-bar, as is practised here, have 

 much to learn in respect to the laws of 

 nature and the appliances of art. And 

 the resultant idea, on a practical review of 

 the subject, is that, if a fair amount of 

 intelligent industry and care could be in- 

 vested in the cultivation of this crop, it 

 would undoubtedly yield a surprisingly 

 satisfactory percentage of remunerative 

 returns." 



The method of preparing the fruit for 

 shipment is thus described in the recent edi- 

 tion of the " Encyclopedia Britannica " : 



" In gathering, the workman is careful 

 to cut down only fully ripened pods, which 

 he adroitly accomplishes with a long pole 

 armed with two prongs, or a knife at its 



