FERMENTATION. 35 



■opinion that the changes of a certain kind take place, while 

 •others hold that changes of an opposite charater are developed, 

 as was clearly shown by the Essays of 1 889. All are however 

 fairly agreed that a change of some kind is necessary and 

 different operators disagree only as to the exact manner of 

 bringing about such a change. One object of the operator is to 

 change as far as possible the colour of the bean from a harsh 

 purple to a cliocolate or cinnamon colour by fermentation, 

 and this change is brought about by the process in a varj'ing 

 degree. The original colour of the interior of the beans has 

 however much to do with the final coloui- of the finished article. 

 'Tho white seeded Cacao of Nicaragua takes only 48 hours to 

 become a fine " cinnamon" brown in colour, and the strains of 

 Cacao that have light coloured seeds are always those in which 

 the finest colour and break is produced. The true Creole*of 

 Trinidad, as found wild in our forest has white seeds and 

 ■compares well in shape and form with the Ceylon and Java 

 , produce ^vith which it is now saiil to be identical. Mr. J. R. 

 JMartin, reporting on Cacao to the Planters' Association of 

 •Ceylon in 1891, has a paragraph as follows: — " The break of 

 West Indian growths, so far as I had an opportunity of observing, 

 ■was invariably very dark brown or purple ; which indicates 

 that the Cacao is of the Forastcro variety, and every Cacao 

 planterknowsthat no care or curing will alter this characteristic." 

 Mr. Martin "here refers to the colour of the interior of the bean. 

 It is very clear that no preparation can ever produce the colour 

 from a purple beau, which can be obtained from the white 

 ■seeded varieties but still the purple colour of Forastero can in a 

 "great measure be controlled by propeilj' managed fermentation. 



Another change whicL •' V.rought about by fermentation is 

 the hardening Or toughening o- >' shell of the bean. This is 

 -desirable from the point of view that it preserves the interior 

 ■when the shell is kept entire. If the shell of the bean is brittle, 

 it suffers much during transport to market, and the interior 

 becomes liablB to rapid deterioration in consequence. It has 

 been held that the operation of swpaling or fercnenting is simply 

 one of " malting" (i e.) on., by which the starch of the bean is 

 changed into sugar by the act of gei uiination, but I cannot find 

 that this theory ha« found much favour, and I am of the opinion 

 that it is impossible to make a high class product from ger- 

 minated Cacao. 



Srd. — 'What cause the Cfuniges. 



This is a difficult question to answer, and in fact can only 

 be answered after a full study of the Chemistry of Cacao. There 

 ■was until recently no accurate data at hand on this most 



