100 



slight tendency to purple ; " hardness of break," " flintiness," 

 " soapiness," " grey colour," &c, all betoken insufficiency of 

 ripeness and curing (I.e.). A blue fracture is said to give a bitter 

 taste, and a brown fracture a sweet taste (Ann. Rep. Bot. Dept. 

 Gold Coast, 1904). The process of fermentation may occupy from 

 3 to 10 days, according to the variety, the condition of the bean 

 when gathered, and the season — dry or rainy. The temperature 

 of the mass during fermentation should be kept approximately at 

 100° F. Due provision must be made in the fermenting 

 receptacles for evaporation and the draining away of the acid 

 liquor which is developed. 



After fermentation the beans are washed and dried gradually 

 on mats, trestles, or trays, either in the open or in well-ventilated 

 sheds specially erected for the purpose. The drying process 

 under favourable conditions should be accomplished in about 

 a week, 



Specially erected and permanent fermenting and drying houses 

 become a necessity only where the produce is so great from large 

 estates, as to create difficulty in meeting the exigencies of the 

 weather during the period of preparation. Mid-day sun or rain 

 are detrimental to the beans ; the one is likely to parch or crack 

 them, and the other is productive of mould. 



A knowledge of the requirements will suggest the right kind of 

 structure, having regard to the materials at hand, and in any case 

 these need not be of a costly character. 



In some countries, more especially in the Western Tropics, the 

 beans are dried and cleaned after fermentation by " claying." 

 This process consists of rubbing the beans with finely powdered 

 red clay from day to day until all the mucilage is removed and 

 they are quite dry and ready for shipment. In Trinidad this 

 process is adopted on some of the best estates (Kew Bull. 1890, 

 p. 172). 



Much difference of opinion exists as to the value of these 

 methods of washing and non-washing. In some parts of the 

 West Indies the beans are in general neither washed nor rubbed ; 

 the mucilage is allowed to dry upon them after fermentation 

 (Kew Bull. 1890, p. 172). In Ceylon the fermented mucilage is 

 removed by washing, producing a clean bright sample free from 

 discoloration of any kind (I.e.). It has been suggested that the 

 natural aroma of Ceylon Cocoa is impaired by washing, and that 

 the standard would be considerably raised if the Trinidad method 

 of fermentation were applied (Trop. Agric. Ceylon, 1905, p. 248). 

 Some experiments conducted recently at Peradeniya with a view 

 to effecting a good curing of seeds fermented inside the pod, and 

 also to obtain a clean marketable seed without washing, show that 

 the results obtained did not justify any change in the method of 

 preparation (Circ. No. 4, April, 1903, Roy. Bot. Gdn. Ceylon, 

 pp. 68-69). Johnson, late Director of Agriculture, Gold Coast, 

 recommended as the result of some enquiries that it would be 

 more profitable to prepare the cocoa for market without washing. 



Several samples of washed and unwashed Cocoa forwarded to 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew, October, 1905, from the Gold Coast, 



