Preface Xxill. 
and when they find it necessary to criticize 
each other. ‘‘When doctors disagree the 
patient gets well.” J am, as just stated, not 
at all certain that the doctors have disagreed 
in this case, but if they have then all the 
better, if the old saying goes for anything, 
for then we shall know for certain that the 
future health and prosperity of the plantation 
cacao industry are assured. 
In these days of rush and hustle, when 
nature and civilization alike are supposed to 
move to time and obey man’s wishes and 
orders whether they are reasonable and possi- 
ble or not, I would like to call attention to Dr. 
Sack’s remarks on p. 151 regarding the dis- 
advantage of rapid drying. Dr. Sack tells us: 
“This experiment at the same time made it 
quite clear why the old method, by which the 
drying was done slowly, yielded a product 
which far surpassed in quality the cacao, that 
was rapidly dried, for with a slow process of 
drying the reactions will continue for some 
considerable time. With rapid drying they 
will speedily cease.” 
_ I have always maintained that produce can 
be, and often is, dried far too quickly, but was 
unable to explain why. Dr. Sack’s essay, 
however, and the book generally, will, I think, 
show that the mere evaporation of surplus 
moisture is not the chief object sought after, 
and that if you want to bring out and generally 
develop the aroma and flavour of your beans, 
