The Last Word o7y 
drying ceases or -becomes delayed. It there- 
fore becomes necessary to stir and turn the 
mass frequently, thereby interrupting the con- 
tinuous working. So far as I can judge by 
experience, I consider a drying-house supplied 
with ventilators or fans and rows of trays the 
most practical method for carrying out the 
drying process. 
It is very doubtful whether the juice of the 
pulp can be utilized for the manufacture of 
vinegar, since, at least under the conditions 
prevailing in the Cameroons, a very large part 
of the juice runs off before the cacao reaches 
the fermenting boxes. 
According to Nicholls the changes brought 
about in the interior of the bean are produced 
by enzymes formed on its exterior; in this view 
he coincides with Preyer. The statement can, 
however, hardly be substantiated. 
The “cacao-fly” or some similar insect also 
occurs in the Cameroons, as it probably does 
in all tropical countries. It is always to be 
found on fermenting saccharine fruits. That 
it plays an important réle in carrying the 
yeasts is a new and valuable observation for 
which we have to thank Nicholls. _ 
Nicholls’s proposal, that yeast should be 
added to the cacao from the first, seems 
worthy of consideration and of further inves- 
tigation. Contrary to what Preyer aims at, 
he does not lay so much stress on using a 
pure culture (cultivated yeasts) as on increasing 
