The Last Word 265 
It is very doubtful whether, with the present 
class of manufactured cacao that is in demand 
it is worth the planter’s while to improve the 
quality of their beans, provided that they can 
ship them even in quality, size, appearance and 
“break,” and the following reasons can be 
advanced against incurring unnecessary ex- 
pense to improve the class. of ‘bean shipped 
at present (provided always the bulk runs 
even as just mentioned) :— 
(1) The cacao-market has an _ increasing 
tendency to minimize the differences in price 
between the good and ordinary cacaos. Ten 
years ago the proportional value between the 
Cameroons and Caracas beans was as 100 to 
240 approximately ; now it stands at about 
100 to 140. Even granted that the quality of 
Caracas cacao may have deteriorated some- , 
what, and that of the Cameroons cacao may 
have improved, the tendency to level down 
or up all kinds, already spoken of, is un- 
mistakeable. 
(2) There is no recognized general standard 
as to the quality of a cacao, and there is also 
no uniformity of opinion as to what constitutes 
an ideal bean as to quality. Since flavour is 
the main guide, the valuation of the same cacao 
may differ very markedly according to the 
different experts sampling it; on-this account 
the broker who settles the price as a rule 
judges quite differently to the manufacturer.’ 
1 Do we find this in London ?>—H. H. S. 
