Part 6 (1/2)

Just as in Java and Ceylon, to a.s.sist drying, they wash off the pulp, so in Venezuela and often in Trinidad, with the same object, they put earth or clay on the beans. In Venezuela it is a heavy, rough coat, and in Trinidad a film so thin that usually it is not visible. In Venezuela, where fermentation is often only allowed to proceed for one day, the use of fine red earth may possibly be of value. It certainly gives the beans a very pretty appearance; they look as though they have been moistened and rolled in cocoa powder. But in Trinidad, where the fermentation is a lengthy one, the use of clay, though hallowed by custom, is quite unnecessary. In the report of the Commission of Enquiry (Trinidad, 1915) we read concerning claying that ”It is said to prevent the bean from becoming mouldy in wet weather, to improve its marketable value by giving it a bright and uniform appearance, and to help to preserve its aroma.” In the appendix to this report the following recommendation occurs: ”The claying of cacao ought to be avoided as much as possible, and when necessary only sufficient to give a uniform colour ought to be used.” In my opinion manufacturers would do well to discourage entirely the claying of cacao either in Trinidad or Venezuela, for from their point of view it has nothing to recommend it. One per cent. of clay is sufficient to give a uniform colour, but occasionally considerably more than this is used. If we are to believe reports, deliberate adulteration is sometimes practised. Thus in _How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate_ we read: ”A cocoa dealer of our day to give a uniform colour to the miscellaneous brands he has purchased from Pedro, d.i.c.k, or Sammy will wash the beans in a heap, with a mixture of starch, sour oranges, gum arabic and red ochre. This mixture is always boiled. I can recommend the 'Chinos' in this dodge, who are all adepts in all sorts of 'adulteration' schemes. They even add some grease to this mixture so as to give the beans that brilliant gloss which you see sometimes.” In Trinidad the usual way of obtaining a gloss is by the curious operation known as ”dancing,” which is performed on the moistened beans after the clay has been sprinkled on them. It is a quaint sight to see a circle of seven or eight coloured folk slowly treading a heap of beans. The dancing may proceed for any period up to an hour, and as they tread they sing some weird native chant. Somewhat impressed, I remarked to the planter that it had all the appearance of an incantation. He replied that the process cost 2d. per cwt. Dancing makes the beans look smooth, s.h.i.+ny, and even, and it separates any beans that may be stuck together in cl.u.s.ters. It may make the beans rounder, and it is said to improve their keeping properties, but this remains to be proved. On the whole, if it is considered desirable to produce a glossy appearance, it is better to use a polis.h.i.+ng machine.

_The Weight of the Cured Cacao Bean._

[Ill.u.s.tration: SORTING CACAO BEANS IN JAVA.

(Reproduced from van Hall's _Cocoa_, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.).]

Planters and others may be interested to know the comparative sizes of the beans from the various producing areas of the world. Some idea of these can be gained by considering the relative weights of the beans as purchased in England.

Average weight Number of Beans Kind. of one Bean. to the lb.

Grenada 1.0 grammes 450 Para 1.0 ” 450 Bahia 1.1 ” 410 Accra 1.2 ” 380 Trinidad 1.2 ” 380 Cameroons 1.2 ” 380 Ceylon 1.2 ” 380 Caracas 1.3 ” 350 Machala 1.4 ” 330 Arriba 1.5 ” 300 Carupano 1.6 ” 280

_The Yield of the Cacao Tree._

The average yield of cacao has in the past generally been over-stated.

Whether this is because the planter is an optimist or because he wishes others to think his efforts are crowned with exceptional success, or because he takes a simple pride in his district, is hard to tell.

Probably the tendency has been to take the finer estates and put their results down as the average.

Of the thousands of flowers that bloom on one tree during the year, on an average only about twenty develop into mature pods, and each pod yields about 1-1/3 ounces of dry cured cacao. Taking the healthy trees with the neglected, the average yield is from 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of commercial cacao per tree. This seems very small, and those who hear it for the first time often make a rapid mental calculation of the amazing number of trees that must be needed to produce the world's supply, at least 250 million trees. Or again, taking the average yield per acre as 400 lbs., we find that there must be well over a million acres under cacao cultivation. At the Government station at Aburi (Gold Coast) three plots of cacao gave in 1914 an average yield of over 8 pounds of cacao per tree, and in 1918 some 468 trees (_Amelonado_) gave as an average 7.8 pounds per tree. This suggests what might be done by thorough cultivation. It suggests a great opportunity for the planters--that, without planting one more tree, they might quadruple the world's production.

The work which has been started by the Agricultural Department in Trinidad of recording the yield of individual trees has shown that great differences occur. Further, it has generally been observed that the heavy bearing trees of the first year have continued to be heavy bearers, and the poor-yielding trees have remained poor during subsequent years. The report rightly concludes that: ”The question of detecting the poor-bearing trees on an estate and having them replaced by trees raised from selected stock, or budded or grafted trees, of known prolific and other good qualities is deserving of the most serious consideration by planters.”

_The Kind of Cacao that Manufacturers Like._[6]

[6] For further information read _The Qualities in Cacao Desired by Manufacturers_, by N.P. Booth and A.W.

Knapp, International Congress of Tropical Agriculture, 1914.

Planters have suggested to me that if the users and producers of cacao could be brought together it would be to their mutual advantage. Permit me to conceive a meeting and report an imaginary conversation:

PLANTER: You know we planters work a little in the dark. We don't know quite what to strive after. Tell me exactly what kind of cacao the manufacturers want?

MANUFACTURER: Every buyer and manufacturer has his tastes and preferences and----.

PLANTER: Don't hedge!

MANUFACTURER: The cacao of each producing area has its special characters, even as the wine from a country, and part of the good manufacturer's art is the art of blending.

PLANTER: What--good with bad?

MANUFACTURER: No! Good of one type with good of another type.

PLANTER: What do you mean exactly by good?

MANUFACTURER: By good I mean large, ripe, well-cured beans.

By indifferent I mean unripe and unfermented. By abominable I mean germinated, mouldy, and grubby beans. Happily, the last cla.s.s is quite a small one.