156 CACAO 



A description of the details of the process of curing 

 cacao of high quality may be of value, and I give that 

 prepared for the Bulletin of the Botanical Department by 

 Mr. J. C. Augustus, the manager of the Trinidad Govern- 

 ment Estate, whose samples took first place for the best 

 bag of cacao at the Trinidad Agricultural Exhibition of 

 1905, and who continues to secure best prices in the market. 

 The class of produce made by this method is " clayed 

 cacao," but, leaving out the addition of the powdered clay, 

 the system is that generally followed for making No. 1 

 cacao on Trinidad estates, and may be followed with 

 advantage in the preparation of any class of cacao, allowing, 

 of course, for known facts in original grades of produce to 

 be treated. The account given is somewhat condensed 

 from the original, facts of local interest only being excluded. 



In the preparation of cacao no hard-and-fast rules can 

 be laid down with any certainty of their being followed out. 

 A great deal depends upon the methods adopted during 

 changeable weather to carry out the principles of general 

 instructions. Sometimes " clayed " cacao is in demand, 

 sometimes " No. 1," or " Fine Estates," or " Good 

 Ordinary," and at other times, unfermented cacao, accord- 

 ing to the ruling of the markets. The cacao to be treated 

 is taken to be that of an ordinary estate possessed of strains 

 showing a preponderance of Forastero with a blend of 

 CrioUo and Venezuelan varieties. 



Cacao on its arrival from the field is placed at once in 

 the sweating-boxes, being thoroughly mixed up in the 

 handling. Put to ferment on a Saturday, it should be 

 turned on the following Tuesday and Friday, and taken 

 to the drying floor on Monday, thus giving a clear nine 

 days' fermentation.* 



When turning the beans, care should be taken to see 

 that the top beans go to the bottom, those from the sides 

 to the middle, and those at the bottom to the top. This 

 assists in obtaining an even ferment. A sample thus 

 treated will be observed to show a clear mahogany colour, 



* For CrioUo varieties four clear days will in general be sufficient. 



