Preface ix. 
and very small, parcels, often down to 1 lb. or 
2 Ib. each, no two beans of which, when picked 
up at random, had any points in common, and, 
therefore, extremely unsatisfactory to roast up 
and use, compared to the large parcels pro- 
duced in, and purchasable from, such centres 
as San Thomé and Bahia. 
What we particularly want to avoid, and 
what I hope the experiments described in this 
book will help us to do away with to a large 
extent, are the uneven and unsightly rows of 
cacao samples to be seen on the counter of any 
broker or dealer when offering such produce 
for sale. Anyone with a month’s experience 
of the cacao trade will know the sort of lots 
I refer to; beans bright, dull, or grey mouldy 
and reddish; dark beans, black, mouldy, and 
fiery red lying side by side, and far too often 
mixed in the same tray or heap. Here is a 
lot with a thin, light, almost straw-coloured 
shell nearly as pale as cardamoms, there are 
some Haitians or San Domingo, with a coat- 
ing of mould over them that would be a 
credit to a bottle of fine old crusty port. In 
any case no two bags or trays are alike, 
and the samples themselves show a most 
regrettable mixture of colours and qualities 
that should not be, since such a defect could 
be so easily avoided, and will be, I trust, 
after the results of the suggestions offered 
in the following pages have been tested and 
carried .on to a final conclusion. 
