VALUE AS FOOD. 63 



A competent writer, in the last edition of 

 the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," says: 



" The constitution upon which the pecul- 

 iar value of cocoa depends is the theobro- 

 mine, an alkaloid substance, which till re- 

 cently was supposed to be distinct from, 

 though closely allied to, the theine of tea and 

 coffee. It is now, however, known that the 

 alkaloid in these, and in two or three other 

 substances similarly used, is identical, and 

 their physiological value is consequently 

 the same. The fat, or cocoa-butter, is a 

 firm, solid white substance, at ordinary 

 temperature, having an agreeable taste and 

 odor, and very remarkable for its freedom 

 from any tendency to become rancid. It 

 consists essentially of stearin, with a little 

 olein, and is used in surgical practice, and 

 in France as a material for soap and 

 pomade manufacture. 



"The starch grains present in raw cocoa 

 are small in size, and of a character so 

 peculiar that there is no difficulty in dis- 



