Dr. Oscar. Loew 35 
tion appears to be to change the inside portion 
of the bean by absorbing into it products 
obtained from the fermenting pulp, and where 
this is not fully accomplished by any of the 
methods the bean is classed as unfermented, 
and the: product is generally of lower value.” 
The changes brought about by the fermenta+ 
tion have been minutely examined by Prof. 
Harrison, the well-known chemist and Direc- 
tor of Agriculture in British Guiana. Some 
of the changes observed, as, for example, the 
decrease of protein in the seed and the increasé 
of amido compounds, are only incidental and 
not of any importance, since they do not affect 
the colour, which is simply due fo. the action 
of an oxidizing enzyme in the seed. 
The principal conclusions reached by 
Harrison’ ‘are that the process of ‘‘fermenta- 
tion or sweating in cacao consists in an 
alcoholic fermentation of the sugars in the 
pulp of the fruit accompanied by a loss of some 
of the albuminoid and indeterminate nitro- 
genous constituents of the beans, . . . and 
some parts of the carbohydrates other than 
sugars undergo hydrolysis and either escape 
in the runnings from the. boxes in the form 
of glucose, or undergo in turn the alcoholic. 
and acetic fermentations.” Further he de- 
clares: ‘During this change some of the 
1 Pyoc. Agr. Soc. Trinidad, 2 (1896-97), p. 250; Hart, 
*Cacao.”’ Trinidad, 1900, ‘and ed., pp. 106, 107. 
