The Last Word 275 
notes were written in Munich on February 18, 
1913, before the other essays had been trans- 
lated and put into type. According to Dr. 
Loew, there can hardly exist any doubt that 
the fermentation of cacao was originally prac- 
tised solely for the purpose of loosening the 
substances to be found between the pulp and 
the seed-coat. This leads to a ready removal 
‘of the attached pulp tissue, and thus a rapid 
drying process is insured, which is necessary 
in order to prevent the seeds becoming 
mouldy. 
At the same time, however, changes in the 
cotyledons of the seed are produced during the 
fermentation, which finally lead to the develop- 
ment of the aroma. The chemical nature of 
this aroma has not yet been decided. It may 
be an ether-like compound or a ketone, or 
an aldehyde of the aromatic series, like e.g., 
vanillin is. It would be an object of con- 
siderable interest to reveal the mother sub- 
stance of the fine flavour peculiar to cacao. 
So far the most important report on the 
subject, from a practical standpoint, is that of 
Mr. Hudson in the prize essay on the “ Fer- 
mentation, Curing and By- products of Cacao.” 
An experience of twenty years’ cacao fermen- 
tation has been made careful use of and pre- 
sented for our consideration. In regard to 
the aroma, this report contains a sentence of 
special importance, viz. : “ The higher the tem- 
perature attained and maintained for some days 
