180 The Fermentation of Cacao , 
efficacious plan is to pierce the. bottom with 
a sufficient number of 4 in. auger holes. For 
concrete boxes a bottom sloping down to a 
long narrow slit of an exit is preferable. 
Much inadequate fermentation of cacao is 
due to an insufficient and carelessly arranged 
leaf cover. It is a simple matter to observe 
with a thermometer the loss in heat that takes 
place in five minutes by the removal of the 
leaf cover from a box of strongly fermenting 
cacao; such a loss immediately reacts on the 
fermenting organisms, lessening their beneficial 
action. Of course, heat is only a symptom of 
beneficial fermentation, but it is the most 
important symptom and its readings spell 
either success or failure. The most suitable 
covering for sweating boxes is the leaf of the 
wild plantain (Heliconia bthaz), commonly 
called Bahsszer in French patois, Other 
leaves used in the West Indies are banana, 
plantain and tania. When fermentation proves 
difficult and incomplete it is much assisted by 
lining the bottom and sides of the box with 
wild plantain or banana leaves. As the heat 
generated in the first and second boxes is 
generally not much in excess of the atmo- 
spheric heat, the omission of the leaf cover from 
those boxes is recommended as allowing free 
access to the ‘‘cacao fly” (described by Dr. 
Nicholls), and thereby ensuring a more com- 
plete inoculation of the fermenting yeasts. 
Another most important factor is a thorough 
