16 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 



ness, and oleaginous properties of the fruit, 

 and in the fact that it always finds ready 

 sale, while the latter is often dull or neg- 

 lected. The difference in price of the two 

 varieties is also marked, the former being 

 quoted at $28 to $30 per fanega (no 

 pounds), while the latter commands ap- 

 proximately half that price. 



u While coffee can be successfully culti- 

 vated under a temperature of 60 degrees 

 F., the cocoa-tree, for proper development 

 and remunerative crops, requires a tem- 

 perature of 80 degrees F. ; hence the area 

 of the cocoa belt is comparatively re- 

 stricted, and the cocoa-planter presumably 

 has not to fear the fierce competition that 

 he has encountered in the cultivation of 

 cotton and coffee. Besides the condition 

 of temperature above stated, this crop 

 needs a moist soil and humid atmosphere, 

 and so the lands along the coast of the 

 Caribbean sea, sloping from the mountain- 

 tops to the shore, bedewed* by the exha- 



