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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March i, 1882. 
CEYLON "COCOA " AND ITS PREPARATION. 
Kurunegala, 11th Feb. 1882. 
Dtcar Sir, — To many planters and proprietors re- 
sident in lowcountry districts where cocoa is "king," 
it is, perhaps, time that the process of cocoa curing 
should be ventilated. 
The planters in this district now beginning to cure 
their first samples, not knowing whether the process 
they follow is right or wrong, hope to call forth 
some criticism by explaining the method pursued, 
which is as follows : — 
Having taken the beans out of the pods, they 
are heaped up on some matting, placed over wire 
netting raised off the floor ; the beans are then covered 
over with plantain leaves (the ribs of which have 
been previously removed), and above this earth and 
sacks are heaped. The heap is then left to ferment 
for four days, after which the coverings are taken 
off and the beans well stirred. Then the heap is 
covered up, as before, for four days longer ; the beans 
are then washed lightly by hand and dried in the sun. 
We beg to forward for your inspection a sample 
oured after the above method, and should be greatly 
obliged by your ascertaining whether the sample is 
of any appreciable value in the market. — Yours faith- 
fully, COCOA CURER. 
The above letter comes from a planter in an out-of-the- 
way district, and he accompanies it by a sample of 
" cocoa "beans which we at once submitted to competent 
authority for an opinion. The result is very gratifying. 
Our mercantile friend, who was not told the name of the 
planter, his estate or district, writes : — 
"The sample of cocoa which you have just sent me 
is, I think, the finest I have yet seen of Ceylon growth. 
The majority of the beans are bold, well filled out, have 
a thin fragile husk and the contents are of the rose-brown 
colour which appears to be so much liked by chocolate- 
makers. I do not consider it quite dried enough for 
shipping, and I should, of course, have the few unripe 
beans, also the broken beans picked out ; the result 
would then be a sample finer than the Amba, Raja, and 
Palli marks hitherto shipped. With regard to value 
it is impossible to say what it would fetch in the London 
market, but if previous sales of abovementioned marks 
are any guide, I should say a fancy price of over 110s. 
for a small parcel. The market has never yet been tried 
with a large shipment of Ceylon growth." 
No doubt our planting correspondent has something 
to learn yet in reference to preparation, but he is on 
the right track. Mr. J. Holm in his little pamphlet on 
' ' Cocoa and its Manufacture " (which every planter 
ought to have) writes : — 
The seeds have to undergo a peculiar progress, 
called "curing," before they are fit for use by the 
manufacturer. This procoss is one of great delicacy, 
and requires much experience and skill to conduct it 
successfully. Upon it depends in a very great degree 
not merely the preservation of the cocoa, but the 
development in it of a fine flavour. There are two 
modes of conducting it. The simpler one is merely 
to place the cocoa seeds, when taken from the pods, 
in heaps in the sun, and these are stirred at intervals. 
A sufficient quantity of the pulp in which the seeds are 
imbedded adheres to them to supply enough moisture 
to give rise to a moderate amount of fermentation, 
which ceases when the nuts are sufficiently dry to be 
packed. The other mode is by "claying," that is, 
the nuts are placed in holes or trenches dug in the 
ground, and covered with clay or sand ; they are 
stirred at intervals, and great care is taken to pre- 
vent the fermentation which arises from proceeding 
too violently. When it has reached its proper point, 
tho nuts are spread upon a platform or upon mats 
until perfectly free from moisture, when they are 
placed in bags. 
THE CHEAPENING OF QUININE. 
The decline, by about 25 per cent., in the wholesale 
price in London, of sulphate of quinine, during the 
year 1881, was chiefly attributable to the large increase 
in the output of Nilgiri bark. The Government under- 
took to cultivate cinchona in the hope of thereby 
making quinine abundant and cheap, and their success 
has stimulated private persons to plant cinchona on a 
large scale. From 1860-61, when the Nilgiri plant- 
ations were commenced, up to the end of 1879-80, the 
outlay of the Madras Government was, inclusive of 
interest, R18,61,476, and their receipts were R15,99,626 
leaving a balance of capital due of R2,67,850. The 
Government had to pay heavily at the outset for 
their experience, and if they had to go over the same 
ground again, with the knowledge they now possess, 
they would probably be able to effect a considerable 
saving in their outlay. Bud the money spent on 
tentative operations has not been lost and the public 
have been freely admitted to the benefit of the inform- 
tion the Government have obtained of the best methods 
of cultivation. So recently as the end of 1875-76 the 
outlay of the Government amounted to about 13 lakhs, 
and their receipts to less than 2 lakhs. But since then 
there have been the following gratifying comparisons 
between expenditure and revenue : — 
Tear. Expenditure. Revenue. Profit. 
1876- 77 ... R 1,18,742 1,18,960 218 
1877- 78 ... „ 1,34,228 3,71,071 1,36,843 
1878- 79 ... „ 1,44,179 4,30,908 2,86,729 
1879- 80 ... ,, 1,56,708 4,89,731 3,33,023 
If the receipts were as good in 1880-81 as in 1879-80, 
then the Government have already had the satisfaction 
of recovering all their outlay, with interest thereon, 
and of possessing estates which yield a nett revenue of 
3J to 4 lakhs a year, with a steadily rising tendency. 
But, though making a very handsome thing out of their 
own estates, the Government encourage competition by 
their free sale of seeds, and in 1879-80 as much as 
l,7111bs. of seed were distributed. They have 847 
acres under cultivation, and at the end of 1879-80, 
there were 677,350 plants in permanent plantation. 
Colonel Beddome reports that in the Sikkim plant- 
ations there are 4,945,630 cinchona trees. He does not 
mention the amount of bark that is obtained at Sikkim, 
and, strange to say, the very bulky Administration 
Report of Bengal for 1880-81 makes no allusion to 
cinchona. The bark that is obtained at Sikkim is all 
made into a febrifuge in a factory on the estate. This 
febrifuge "is said to be quite as efficacious asq'.iinine, 
and it is much cheaper, and very easily made." The 
cost is R9-3-10J per lb., or about 9 annas per ounce. 
We are not aware of a census having been taken of 
cinchona trees in Government and private estates ; but 
it is well known that year by year the area of culti- 
vation is increasing both in Madras and in Bengal, so 
that we may confidently expect to see quinine brought 
in a short time within the reach of those poorest of 
the poor, who, in this more or less fever-stricken land, 
have the greatest need of the medicine.— Madras Mail. 
CINCHONA : A REVIEW. 
The Cinchoha Planter's Manual. By T. C. Owen. 
(Colombo : A. M. & J. Ferguson. London: J. Haddon 
& Co., 3, Bouverie Street, 1881.) 
It is not every day that we are called upento review 
works printed on such distant soil as Colombo. Here 
is one, however, to which it|is worth while calling our 
readers' attention, for it is a highly praiseworthy 
attempt to produce an exhaustive practical treatise on 
the cultivation ofoinchona trees in. Ceylon and (for the 
greater part of the volume applies elsewhere equally 
well to any climate in which quinine bark canbe grown.) 
In learning the results yielded by cinchona cultiy 
