372 
Commercial  Varieties  of  Cacao. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
August,  1894. 
commercial  specimens,  from  a  light  brown  to  a  deep  reddish-brown, 
depending  probably  on  the  degree  of  fermentation  to  which  the 
seeds  have  been  subjected  in  preparing  them  for  the  market.  The 
embryo,  with  the  cotyledons  separated  and  exposing  their  inner 
faces,  is  shown  in  Fig.  iD. 
The  cacao  tree  has  been  under  cultivation  since  before  the  dis- 
covery of  America;  how  long  before,  of  course,  we  do  not  know, 
and  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  a  plant  so  long  under  cultivation 
would  now  exist  under  a  considerable  number  of  cultivated  varieties 
Fig.  6. — Starch  from  Bahia  Cacao.    X  1500. 
or  forms.  This  is  to  some  extent  the  fact,  though  the  varieties  do 
not  appear  so  numerous  or.  so  marked  as  those  of  many  other  species 
that  have  been  cultivated  for  so  long  a  period.  It  is  well  known, 
though,  that  there  are  different  grades  of  cacao  seeds,  some  highly 
prized,  others  of  inferior  flavor.  This  depends,  partly,  no  doubt,  on 
the  methods  and  care  observed  in  curing,  which  differ  in  different 
localities,  but  also  somewhat,  probably,  on  soil  and  climate,  and  on 
those  variations  in  the  plant  due  to  more  obscure  causes.  Natur- 
ally, it  is  desirable  to  know  whether  it  is  possible  to  distinguish  by 
