July  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
49 
The  pods  were  ripe  pods,  the  entire  contents  were 
removed  from  the  shell  after  it  was  opened,  and  then 
carefully  weighed  After  weighing  the  pulp,  the  testa 
or  skin  of  the  seed  was  removed  and  the  waste  and 
cleaned  bean  again  weighed  as  above.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  pulp  surrounding  the  bean,  with  the  placenta , 
weighs  nearly  the  same  as  the  cleaned  kernel,  and 
therefore  if  Mr.  McCarthy’s  analysis  was  taken  from 
the  fresh  bean,  pulp  included,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he 
did  not  get  a higher  percentage  of  fat  than  18  and  28 
per  cent.  Taking  the  average  between  these  and 
allowing  the  difference  of  100  per  cent  for  the  weight 
of  waste  on  the  fresh  beans,  we  have  46  per  cent  of 
fat  in  the  fresh  bean  acccording  to  that  analysis — 
which  approaches  that  of  an  average  sample  of  cured 
cacao. 
To  know  by  the  appearance  of  the  beans  when  fer- 
mentation has  effected  its  object,  is,  of  course,  a 
matter  of  experience  ; — 
The  prime  object  of  sweating  or  fermentation  appears 
to  be,  to  change  the  inside  portion  of  the  bean,  by 
absorbing  into  it  products  obtained  from  the  fer- 
menting and  decomposing  pulp,  and  where  this  is  not 
accomplished  by  any  of  the  methods,  the  bean  is 
classed  as  unfermented  and  the  product  is  of  lower 
value. 
The  experienced  planter  knows  at  once  that  Criollo 
beans  do  not  require  nearly  as  much  time  to  “ stew 
in  their  own  juice”  as  Forastero,  or  Calahacillo,  and 
he  knows  when  each  has  reached  the  proper  stage  of 
preparation  needed  previous  to  the  final  drying,  but 
the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  the  variation  of  time 
in  reaching  this  stage  is,  I believe,  as  yet  a matter  of 
doubt  even  among  the  most  able.  That  the  differ- 
ence in  the  membranous  texture  of  the  outer  covering 
of  the  bean  bears  a material  part  in  influencing  the 
time  necessary  for  fermentation ' cannot  however  be 
doubted. 
Heat,  of  course,  is  essential  to  the  process  of  fer 
mentation,  some  using  sun  heat  and  others  heat 
artificially  produced.  Full  scientific  examination 
is  desiderated,  but  one  conclusion  seems  obvious, 
and  it  is  thus  indicated  by  Mr.  Hart  : — 
Malt  differs  from  barley  insomuch  as  it  contains 
more  dextrain  and  soluble  substances,  but  rather  less 
starch,  cellular  matter,  and  insoluble  albumenoids  and 
a smaller  proportion  of  inorganic  constituents ; and  I 
should  certainly  expect  to  find  that  there  is  a 
similar  difference  between  the  unfermented  Cacao  been 
and  the  fermented  one. 
The  fermenting  process  in  the  case  of  the  cacao 
beans  may  be  described  as  “malting  without  germi- 
nation.” Have  any  observations  been  made  in 
Ceylon  on  the  best  degree  of  heat  for  fermentation  ? 
Mr.  Hart  states:  — 
Mr.  Morris  in  his  pamphlet  mentions  that  the  heat 
of  fermentation  generally  used  is  about  140  deg.  Fah. 
Our  second  prize  essayist  gives  the  temperature  most 
suitable  as  llOdeg.  Fah.  in  the  first  stage,  raising  it 
by  8 deg.  in  the  second  stage.  Dr.  Chittenden  gives 
115  deg.  to  120  deg.  as  the  requisite  temperature,  but 
it  is  doubtful  on  what  basis  or  on  what  experiments 
these  temperatures  have  been  determined,  for  it  is 
certain  that  the  Thermometer  is  an  instrument  not 
in  use  on  many  of  the  best  estates  in  Trinidad. 
A thorough  set  of  experiments  or  even  hourly  read- 
ings of  the  temperature  which  obtains  in  the  sweating- 
house  of  a first-class  estate  would  be  a valuable  record, 
and  would  considerably  add  to  our  present  knowledge 
of  the  subject. 
We  have  now  to  deal  with  a ohapter  describing 
the  processes  of  washing,  drying,  polishing,  colouring 
and  danoing  (!)  Mr.  Hart  states:— 
Washing  comes  next,  because  if  the  planter  wishes 
to  wash  his  cacao,  it  must  be  done  immediately  after 
fermentation,  or  not  at  all.  The  pulp  cannot  be 
removed  by  washing  before  fermentation,  and  even 
after  the  decomposition  caused  by  fermentation  it 
is  somewhat  hard  to  remove. 
The  Ceylon  planter  has  of  late  years  adopted  the 
washing  process  of  preparing  cacao  as  a cleaner  and 
better  method  than  the  one  which  generally  ob- 
tains in  Trinidad,  and  the  high  prices  obtained  by 
the  Ceylon  produce  is  a guarantee  that  their  cacao 
7 
is  of  first-class  quality,  and  market  reports  show 
their  prices  to  range  higher  than  the  average 
of  Trinidad.  However,  brokers  in  London  avise 
Trinidad  growers  not  to  wash  their  cacao,  the  argu- 
ment being  that  what  Ceylon  gains  in  price  it  loses 
in  weight,  and  vice  versa  with  the  Trinidad  grower: 
Anyway  for  the  present,  washing  does  not  find  favour 
with  the  Trinidad  planter,  although  a few  growers 
who  have  tried  the  process  have  not  been  wholly  un- 
successful. 
Mr.  Eugene  Lanke,  junr.,  in  his  article  in  the  Agri- 
cultural Record  for  March,  1891,  clearly  proved 
that,  as  carried  out  by  him,  the  extra  trouble  was 
not  compensated  for  by  the  price  obtained ; still, 
however,  from  the  tenor  of  his  article  he  appears  to 
be  in  favour  of  the  washed  product. 
Mr.  Lange  states  in  his  letter  that— “ Messrs. 
Wilson  Smithett  & Co.  advised  him  that  it  was  not 
advisable  to  imitate  Ceylon  cacao  because  the  prin- 
cipal value  of  that  class  of  cacao  resided  in  its  pale 
cinnamon  break,  which,  whether  due  to  the  soil  or  a 
different  variety  of  cacao,  Trinidad  planters  could  not 
imitate.” 
Mr.  Morris  of  Kew  appears  to  favour  the  view  that 
the  kind  of  cacao  mostly  grown  in  Ceyloil  is  of 
the  Criollo  variety.  Dr.  Trimen  in  his  report  for 
1890  gives  the  remarks  made  “ by  a large  grower  who 
has  great  opportunities  for  observation,  that  the 
Forastero  varieties  which  he  chiefly  cultivates,  appear 
to  be  gradually  changing  their  characters  and  be- 
coming more  like  the  1 old  Ceylon  Red,’  the  seeds 
losing  their  dark  colour  on  section  and  becoming 
pale  or  nearly  white.” 
With  regard  to  this  supposition,  I quite  agree  that 
such  a change  is  both  possible  and  probable.  In 
Grenada  I believe  such  a change  to  be  common, 
and  fairly  apparent — i.e.  the  character  of  the  Foras- 
tero imported  from  Trinidad  soon  disappears. 
If  the  superiority  of  Ceylon  cacao  is  really  due 
to  a difference  in  the  variety  of  plant  producing  it 
— it  will  certainly  be  useless  to  insist  upon  the 
method  of  washing  as  an  improvement  in  the  or- 
dinary Trinidad  practice.  If,  however,  (as  has  been 
asserted  in  the  Ceylon  papers)  the  Ceylon  planter 
can  prepare  Forastero  cacao  to  equal  that  produced 
by  Criollo  we  should  know  as  soon  as  possible  the 
method  he  employs  to  obtain  that  result. 
Washed  cacao,  however,  dries  much  quicker  than 
unwashed  cacao,  and  this  fact,  together  with  arti- 
ficial drying  during  a wet  season,  means  money 
saved  to  the  planter,  and  is  certainly  a point  not 
to  be  lost  sight  of. 
In  Trinidad  drying  is  effected  on  large  sliding  trays, 
which  oan  be  run  into  the  ouriDg-house  should 
rain  occur.  The  employment  of  artificial  heat 
being  deemed  better  and  more  economical,  a prize 
of  |200  was  offered  for  the  best  apparatus  at  an 
Exhibition  in  1890.  The  full  prize  was  not  awarded 
but  an  honorarium  of  $40  each  was  awarded  to 
each  of  three  designs  : — 
The  first  was  simply  the  adoption  of  the  method  of 
heating  by  hot  water,  to  the  ordinary  cacao  house. 
The  second  was  a telescopic  drying  apparatus  ad- 
apted for  either  dry  or  wet  weather,  and  the  third 
was  a dryer  having  the  means  of  keeping  the  beans 
constantly  stirred,  which  was  very  promising. 
A full  sized  apparatus  on  the  first  principle  has 
been  affixed  to  a cacao  house  at  San  Salvador  es- 
tate, and  has  been  found  to  work  very  easily  and 
satisfactorily,  but  I have  not  learnt  that  anything 
has  been  done  in  the  way  of  advancing  the  useful- 
ness of  the  second  design.  The  third  design  is  said 
to  have  been  much  improved  and  is  to  be  erected 
on  a scale  which  will  allow  of  its  chief  points  being  fully 
demonstrated. 
Sir  William  Robinson  in  his  pamphlet  on  cacao, 
reviously  referred  to,  gave  an  account  of  the  Ceylon 
rying  house  as  furnished  by  Dr.  Trimen,  Director  of 
Botanic  Gardens  in  that  Colony,  it  is  as  follows  : — 
“ The  house  is  about  twice  as  long  as  broad, 
built  of  brick,  and  is  provided  with  double  doors, 
but  with  the  exception  of  the  openings  for  the  in- 
gress and  egress  of  the  hot  air,  is  hermetically 
sealed.  The  interior  is  fitted  with  a number  of  up- 
