THE CACAO-TREE. 23 



extremity. The pods are left in a heap on 

 the ground for about twenty-four hours ; 

 they are then cut open and the seeds are 

 taken out and carried in baskets to the 

 place where they undergo the operation of 

 sweating or curing. There the acid juice 

 which accompanies the seeds is first drained 

 off, after which they are placed in a sweat- 

 ing-box, in which they are enclosed and 

 allowed to ferment for some time, great 

 care being taken to keep the temperature 

 from rising too high. The fermenting 

 process is, in some cases, affected by throw- 

 ing the seeds into holes or trenches in the 

 ground and covering them with earth or 

 clay. The seeds in this process, which is 

 called claying, are occasionally stirred to 

 keep the fermentation from proceeding too 

 violently. The sweating is a process which 

 requires the very greatest attention and 

 experience, as on it, to a great extent, de- 

 pends the flavor of the seeds and their fit- 

 ness for preservation. The operation varies 



I71ESIT7J. 



