CHAPTER 7III. 



Preparation of the Bean. 



WASHING. 



^ACAO must be washed immediately after fermen- 

 tation, or not at all. The pulp cannot be removed 

 except by the aid of this process and even after 

 the decomposition set up by fermentation, the 

 pulp is hard to remove. Ceylon planters appear 

 to have adopted the washing process of prepar- 

 ing Cacao as being cleaner and better than the 

 method which generally obtains in Trinidad, and I learn that 

 ,the practice is now being followed in German Vv'^est- Africa where 

 large plantations are being made. The prices obtained by 

 [Ceylon produce is a guarantee that it is of first class quality, 

 'and prices compare very favourably with those obtained by the 

 ihest Trinidad samples. Brokers in London however advise 

 fTrinidad growers not to wash their Cacao, the chief argument 

 (being that what is gained in price, is lost in weight, and vice- 

 I versa. Anyway, washing does not find favour with the Trinidad 

 producer, although a few who have tried the method have nob 

 been wholly unsuccessful, but they never succeed in making an 

 . article which could be fairly compared in appearance with Ceylon 

 samples. 



^' The late Mr. E. Lange in Agricultural Record March, 1891, 

 clearly proved that the extra trouble was not compensated for 



[by the price obtained; still, the tenour of his article 



'appeared to favour the washed product. Mr. Lange stated- 

 yi his article that Messrs, Wilson Smithett & Co. advised 

 him that it was not advisable to imitate Ceylon Cacao 



: because the principle value of that class of Cacao resided in its 

 pale cinnamon break, which whether due to the soil or a di^erent 



'. variety oj Cacaa, Trinidad planter n could not imitate. 



