THE HOUSE OF WALTER BAKER & CO. LTD. 53 
in the pervasive fragrance of the cheese and kerosene. But perhaps 
it is not so widely understood that some of these very teas and coffees 
had been artificially flavored or corrected before they reached their 
destination in this country. 
Cacao lends itself very readily to such preliminary treatment. Ina 
first-class article, the beans should be of the highest excellence ; they 
should be carefully grown on the plantation and there prepared with 
great skill, arriving in the factory in good condition. Inthe factory, 
they should simply receive the mechanical treatment requisite to 
develop their high and attractive natural flavor and fragrance. They 
should be most carefully shelled after roasting and finely ground 
without concealed additions. This is the process in all honest 
manufactories of the cacao products. 
Now, as matter of fact, in the preparation of many of the cacao 
products on the market a wholly different course has been pursued. 
Beans of poor quality are used, because of their cheapness, and in 
some instances they are only imperfectly, if at all, shelled before 
grinding. Chemical treatment is relied on to correct in part the odor 
and taste of such inferior goods, and artificial flavors, other than the 
time-honored natural vanilla and the like, are added freely. The de- 
tection of such imposition is easy enough to the expert, but is difficult 
to the novice : therefore the public is largely unable to discriminate be- 
tween the good and the inferior, and it is perforce compelled to depend 
almost entirely on the character and reputation of the manufacturer. 
Pure cacao-products are characterized by extreme delicacy of flavor. 
But they possess another feature of attractiveness, —a beautiful rich 
red-brown color which is so truly characteristic, that its name, 
‘*chocolate,’’ has passed into many languages as denoting this charm- 
ing shade. When the cacao product is pure, this ‘shade is not a very 
dark brown, it inclines rather to a dark red. When the color of a 
cacao-product is so dark as to appear almost black it is a sure sign that 
it has been tampered with in the process of manufacture or else that 
