"In the tillage of the soil and the economies of agriculture the people of Venezuela are probably not in advance of those who scratched and scraped the earth before the deluge. A people that will plough with a forked stick, and plant corn with an iron crow-bar, as is practised here, have much to learn in respect to the laws of nature and the appliances of art. And the resultant idea, on a practical review of the subject, is that, if a fair amount of intelligent industry and care could be invested in the cultivation of this crop, it would undoubtedly yield a surprisingly satisfactory percentage of remunerative returns."

The method of preparing the fruit for shipment is thus described in the recent edition of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica": "In gathering, the workman is careful to cut down only fully ripened pods, which he adroitly accomplishes with a long pole armed with two prongs, or a knife at its extremity. The pods are left in a heap on the ground for about twenty-four hours; they are then cut open and the seeds are taken out and carried in baskets to the place where they undergo the operation of sweating or curing. There the acid juice which accompanies the seeds is first drained off", after which they are placed in a sweating-box, in which they are enclosed and allowed to ferment for some time, great care being taken to keep the temperature from rising: too high. The fermenting process is, in some cases, affected by throwing the seeds into holes or trenches in the ground and covering them with earth or clay. The seeds in this process, which is called claying, are occasionally stirred to keep the fermentation from proceeding too violently. The sweating is a process which requires the very greatest attention and experience, as on it, to a great extent, depends the flavor of the seeds and their fitness for preservation. The operation varies according to the state of the weather, but a period of about two days yields the best results. Thereafter the seeds are exposed to the sun for drying, and those of a fine quality should then assume a warm, reddish tint, which characterizes beans of a superior quality."

The shell of the nut is prolonged in the form of thin septa into the inner part of the seed. The relative proportions of shell and nib are approximately as 1:8, the nib being much the more abundant. They vary considerably in size. Single seeds may be picked out which weigh as much as 2.7 grammes;1 but the average weight is much less, viz., 1.2 grammes.

The following determinations of the weights of the different kinds of seeds were made by J. Alfred Wanklyn, the well-known analyst: 1 A gramme is equal to 15.432 English grains.

Name of Cocoa.

Weight of 100 Nuts. Grammes.

Common Trinidad ..................

. . 98.

Fair, good Trinidad . .

. . 123.2

Very fine Trinidad ..............

. . 178.7

Medium Trinidad ...................

. . 104.5

Fine Granada .......................

. . 131.

Caracas ....................

• • 130.3

Dominican ......................

. . 110.

Fine Surinamm .....................

. . 122.

Fine Surinam (small) .

• • 71.5

Bahia (Brazil) .................

. . 118.

Mexican......

...... 136.5

African ...............................

. . 128.

The nut, in its unprepared condition, is not an article of retail trade. Before it reaches the consumer it requires much preparation, and without such preparation it is in as impracticable a condition as unground grain before the miller has converted it into flour.