The Last Word . 269 
7.€., where the precipitate had been mainly 
deposited. The deduction from this experi- 
ment would appear to be that the oxidase is 
soluble in water, but is carried dewn with the 
tannin precipitate and thus rendered insoluble. 
As regards Dr. Schulte im Hofe’s process, 
the last word has in my opinion not yet been 
spoken. The method is not new in itself, and 
has already been used for a long time in a 
good many cacao estate factories in completing 
the ripening process of the beans. It is more 
a question of the plant or machinery required. 
If it be possible to devise an apparatus which 
permits of the process being carried out 
cheaply and can be easily controlled, there is 
some prospect of the method being applied on 
a large scale.’ 
The prize essays of Nicholls and Hudson 
offer a useful stimulus and contain new and 
interesting facts. 
I cannot regard the proposal, that the small 
farmers should be forbidden to sell fresh cacao 
in order that thefts may thereby be avoided, 
as being of any practical value. In the 
Cameroons the tendency is, on the contrary, to 
encourage the natives to sell the fresh cacao so 
as to help exporters to obtain a better quality, 
as doing so enables the cacao to be treated in 
an expert manner by the European shippers. 
Thieving takes place all over the world, and 
the task of protecting himself against thefts 
devolves on the proprietor. Should special 
