144 The Fermentation of Cacao 
And now to proceed to the internal 
fermentation, or the processes enacted in the 
bean itself. 
As long as the bean lives but remains ina 
dormant state, no chemical changes of any 
consequence take place, as the various sub- 
stances contained init do not come into contact 
with each other. The seed, however, is no 
sooner dead than the substances of which it is 
composed begin to react upon each other. 
The seed remains alive until the high tem- 
perature brought about by fermentation kills it ; 
and in order to determine at what temperature 
this takes place, the following tests were 
made :— 
The seeds of four ripe cacao pods were 
thoroughly mixed and twenty of them planted ; 
as they all germinated they may be taken to 
represent good germinative seed. 
Ten units were submitted to a temperature 
of 43° C. for three hours, whereupon they were 
left to germinate, which they all did. 
Ten units were submitted to a temperature 
of 43° C. for six hours, and then left to germi- 
nate ; of these only four germinated, and after 
having been heated for nine hours not one of 
the seeds germinated. 
Ten units were heated to 44° C. for six 
hours ; the germs of these seeds all proved to 
be dead. 
In the sweating-boxes thé temperature on 
the third day is usually 45° C., and hence from 
