142 METHODS OF FERMENTATION 



" As most of the West African cocoa which reaches this 

 country is imported via Liverpool, it was considered 

 advisable to have the samples valued also by a firm of 

 brokers in Liverpool. This firm reported as follows : 



" ' Samples Nos. Va, Yb, and IV6 we consider good 

 cocoas, the value of which to-day would be 42s. to 43s. 

 per cwt. ex quay Liverpool, usual terms. 



" ' The other four samples contain defective beans and 

 are therefore not quite the same value as the first three. 

 They would probably realise 40s. to 41s. per cwt., usual 

 terms. The " usual terms " means landing expenses, 

 and less 2J per cent, discount, merchants' and brokers' 

 commission, etc., all to be paid by importer.' 



"General Conclusions and Recommendations. — The fore- 

 going results show that these samples of cocoa appear 

 to be superior to the ordinary West African cocoa now 

 imported into this country, and that if cocoa similar to 

 the present set of samples could be regularly exported it 

 would probably secure better prices than are now gener- 

 ally obtainable for the West African product. 



" These preliminary experiments in the improvement of 

 cocoa may therefore be regarded as having given pro- 

 mising results, and it is desirable that they should be 

 continued. Judging from the results of the present 

 examination, it would seem that future progress may 

 probably best be made by devoting attention to the mode 

 in which the fermentation is carried out, since on this 

 the flavour, aroma, and colour of the product will prin- 

 cipally depend." 



The further action taken is indicated in another 

 report from the Imperial Institute. 



" The information contained in the foregoing report was 

 communicated to the authorities in the Gold Coast 

 Colony, and it was suggested that small consignments of 

 the best quality of cocoa produced by different planters 

 should be sent to the United Kingdom for sale, in order 

 to obtain trustworthy information regarding the value of 

 the better grades of Gold Coast cocoa in the open market. 



" This suggestion was approved by the Governor of the 

 Gold Coast, and subsequently information was received 

 that it had been decided to ship 20 tons of cocoa, selected 

 by the Director of Agriculture and consisting of ' 1 ton 



