152 The Fermentation of Cacao 
Loss by Washing the Cacao. 
A few determinations were made in regard 
to the greater loss of weight the cacao sustains 
after fermentation, if it is washed and then 
dried, as compared with the method of drying 
it immediately after fermentation. 
In Surinam one usually estimates that the 
loss through washing is very considerable, it 
even being admitted to be as much as 15 to 
18 per cent. 
I found, however, that this depreciation only 
came to 4 to 5 per cent., except in a solitary 
case of badly-sweated cacao that was dirty, 
when it was found to be 8 per cent. 
In practice these figures will be lower still, 
as smal] lots such as I washed will be more 
perfectly and thoroughly treated than large 
quantities. Taking this into consideration, the 
figures obtained by me compare favourably 
with those given by Preuss? in regard to the 
loss by washing, z.e., 4 per cent. 
When taking into consideration that buyers 
in Surinam only pay 2 cents per kilo more for 
washed cacao than they do for unwashed, it is 
evident that with a low price of 55 to 60 cents, 
a loss of profit ensues, seeing that 2°2 to 2°4 
cents already is lost by the washing, and only 
2 cents recouped; moreover this does not 
include the washers’ wages, and other costs 
necessitated by the process. 
' Preuss, ‘“‘ Reise nach Central- und Sid Amerika,” 
I9OI, p. 176. 
