COCOA CURING IN CEYLON. 



The following information received from Dr. Trimen, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, 

 will no doubt be of great interest to Planters in Jamaica. 



" You ask about Cocoa curing. We always carefully wash off with repeated ablutions every par- 

 ticle of mucilage from the seeds. No doubt this lessens weight, but much improves the sample and I 

 think one of the principal reasons for the generally high price Ceylon cocoa fetches in London is the 

 clean bright look of the bean. Another and perhaps more important thing is thorough drying. On es- 

 tates this is always done by a current of hot air drawn by a fan through a small house, the seeds being 

 spread out in layers on trays and turned over several times. No Planter here would allow a speck of 

 mould to be seen on a Cocoa bean. I gave a description of the ordinary style of drying house for Cocoa 

 to Sir W. Robinson of Trinidad a few years ago and he printed it in the "Agricultural Record" of that 

 Colony for 1890. I enclose a leaflet which is distributed with Cocoa seed to the native villagers." 



Description of Ceylon Cocoa Drying House. 



*' The house is about twice as long as broad, built of brick, and is provided with double doors, but 

 with the exception of the opening for the ingress and egress af the hot air, is hermetically sealed. The 

 interior is fitted with a number of upright frames into which slide, one above the other, the trays upon 

 which the beans are spread ; these should be made of narrow pieces of split bamboo, not of wire or coir- 

 matting. The heating apparatus is outside in contact with one end of the building, and consists of a large 

 stove standing in a short tunnel which opens into the house. At the other end of the building, also out- 

 Bide,is a powerful fan, fitted in another short tunnel ; this is worked by hand (three or four coolies need- 

 ed)and by itsr apid revolutions draws the air through the house. By passing over and round the stove the 

 air is dried and heated ; that which passes out is hot and damp. The flue of the stove passes under the 

 floor of the house and contributes to warm it. A drying house of this sort is very simple and its cost 

 only about 120 rupees; it does its work perfectly, and nothing more elaborate or costly is required. 



" It is found desirable here to dry Cocoa as slowly as possible, provided the risk of mould be avoided 

 This appears in the interior of the beans in twelve hours and on their outside in about twenty-four in 

 wet weather if they are left cold, but by passing them rapidly through the hot air house, so as to have 

 them hot when taken out, it is found that they will remain for a night or so in the store without injury. 



"As the annual average number of rainy days inCeylon is from 80 in dry districts, to 328 in the wet, 

 and Cocoa is grown only in the moist regions of the Island we may assume that at least four-fifths of 

 the Cocoa exported from that Colony is dried artificially. The rainfall in the best Cocoa Districts of 

 Trinidad appears to average between 80 and 100 inches. The total yield as before stated is 12,500 cwt. 

 representing an enormous crop and an immense number of people dependent upon it." 



" Instructions to Native Cultivators of the Cacao or Chocolate Tree, 1884. 



" 1. Localities, soil, climate, 8fc. — Cacao is a completely tropical plant, and its cultivation should not 

 be attempted above 2,500 feet, and only in warm situations well sheltered from wind. Flat ground 

 is better than sloping. The climate must be moist, but a well marked dry season, if not too long, is 

 no disadvantage. The soil should be deep and well drained ; good forest soil is, of course, best, but 

 that of native gardens is generally very suitable. 



*' 2. Planting. — The seeds must be sown as soon as possible after they are gathered, as they quickly 

 spoil for germination after becoming dry. Germination commences soon and proceeds very rapidly, 

 and the young plants are very impatient of being transplanted, unless with the adoption of such pre- 

 cautions as will prevent any injury to the roots. Arrangements must, therefore, be made either for 

 growing the seeds in a nursery in such a manner as to allow at least a foot between each seedling, so 

 that they may subsequently be taken up with the earth about their roots, or for sowing them singly 

 in bamboo or other pots or for putting two or three seeds in each place it is intended a tree shall 

 occupy, afterwards allowing only the strongest seedling of these to remain. The last plan is the best 

 for native cultivators. In plantations the trees should stand at from 10 to 15 feet apart, according to 

 the richness of the soil, 12 feet being a good average distance. 



" 3. Cultivation. — It is necesary to shade the seedling plants when young : this is effected by 

 branches fastened in the ground of any tree which retains its withered leaves — as cinnamon, mora, 

 &c. There is no occasion to provide any permanent shade in most parts of Ceylon, but shelter from 

 wind is of great importance. Plenty of light and a free ventilation of air are essential for the produc- 

 tion of good and abundant crops. The ground under the trees must be kept perfectly free from weeds, 

 and may be littered with decaying leaves and other vegetable matter. Manure is very beneficial. 

 The trees should be kept from growing higher than 10 or 12 feet, and the primary branches be en- 

 couraged to assume a horizontal direction ; redundant shoots from these or from the trunk must be 

 pinched off when young. The principal trunk and branches should be kept very clean, and great care 

 should be taken that the small and delicate flowers are not rubbed off or injured. 



" 4. Gathering. — A first crop may be expected on good soil in the third year. The fruit must be 

 quite ripe before it is gathered ; this is known by the rind having a yellowish colour when cut into. 

 The pods should be cut off cleanly with a knife, and not too closely to the stem. They can be easily 

 split by a blow from a wooden mallet, and the seeds and pulp are then taken out and put into baskets 

 to be carried to the curing place. 



"5. Curing. — The seeds should be heaped together to "sweat.'* This may be done m pits of 

 boxes, or better on a platform covered with coir matting ; the seeds should be covered over with 



