210 The Fermentation of Cacao 
Beyond possessing a deterrent effect on 
mildew it cannot be said to constitute an 
improvement in curing, neither does it add 
materially to the weight, as the quantity of 
powdered earth used rarely exceeds 1 per cent. 
of the cacao weight, the value of which does 
not cover the cost of the materials plus the 
labour involved. Originally this plan was 
practised by a few estates turning out a 
_ superior high-class sample, and the higher 
prices obtained were doubtless more due to 
this fact than to the addition of coloured earth. 
Nowadays many shippers of inferior cacao use 
“clay,” and it is no longer a hall-mark of good 
quality ; its use, therefore, is not recommended.’ 
Fret PoisuHinc, or-** DANCING.” 
Cacao is generally fit for ‘ polishing” on 
the morning of the third or fourth day’s drying. 
If attempted at too early a stage the gloss 
attained will be poor and evanescent owing 
to the presence of too much moisture in -the 
seed, while if delayed over long the seeds 
become too brittle ‘and are liable to crush 
under the process of polishing, which consists 
really of rupturing the oil cells just beneath 
1 Unless it is to hide outer defects of the beans; the 
tendency of late has been to send less clayed cacao, 
especially Venezuelan, to market. One of the leading 
American makers seems to be especially averse to pay 
for the extra weight, even if it only amounts to 1 perf 
cent., as Mr. Hudson claims.—H. H. S. 
