116 The Fermentation of Cacao 
non-existent. The methods in use, therefore, 
are empirical, and under such circumstances 
it is a little doubtful whether one ought to 
publish anything about a scientific method for 
carrying out the work, and indicate. how the 
oxidation process I have described, may be 
substituted for the methods of fermenting and 
drying the beans at present in general use, as 
by doing so one runs the risk of the essential 
principles of the process not being sufficiently 
understood, and this might prevent the work 
from being properly carried out. If, therefore, 
in spite of this, I still give some directions, 
I only do so in order that some of the planters 
may be enabled to carry out -the necessary 
experiments. I should, however, like to warn 
my readers against being over-hasty in arriving 
at conclusions from the results they obtain if 
these do not work out exactly as they desired 
or expected. What should be done is to intro- 
duce the process on one plantation in each 
colony, a scientific expert specially trained to 
the work being engaged to assist, and only 
when these two, the scientist and the planter, 
together have thoroughly mastered the pro- 
cess, to then introduce it generally to the other 
estates. In order that advice might be at hand 
when required, an expert as described above 
should be permanently appointed to, and reside 
in the colony, with a suitably equipped scien- 
tific institute placed at his disposal, in which 
further investigations and experiments could 
be carried out and checked. 
