r they wrap them too soon in the
Mat, they are subject to sprit or germe, which makes them bitter, and
good for nothing.

When the Kernels have been once wrapped in a Mat, and begun to dry, care
must be taken that they do not grow moist again; they must therefore be
well stirr'd from time to time, that they may be thorowly dry'd, which
you may know by taking a Handful in your Hand, and shutting it: if it
cracks, then it is time to put them into your Store-house, and to expose
them to sale.

Those who would gain a Reputation in giving out a good Merchandize,
before they pack it up in Vessels, pick it, and throw aside the little,
wither'd, and thin Kernels, which are not only unsightly, but render the
Chocolate something worse.

Afterwards the Kernels of the _Cocao-Nut_ are dried in the Sun, before
they are brought to _Europe_, and sold by the Druggists and Grocers, who
distinguish it into great and small, and into that of _Caraqua_, and
that of the _French_ Islands, tho with no good Foundation, for in the
Places themselves they make no mention of this Distinction: It therefore
seems likely, that the Merchants find their account in sorting it, since
Kernels proceeding from the same Tree, and from the same Nut, are not
always of the same bigness. It is indeed true, that if one Parcel of
Kernels be compared with another, the one may consist of bigger than the
other, which may arise from the Age or Vigour of the Trees, or from the
Nature of the Soil; but certainly there is no kind of Kernels which may
be called Great, as a distinct Kind, nor consequently no other which can
properly be said to be Small.

The Kernels that come to us from the Coast of _Caraqua_, are more oily,
and less bitter, than those that come from the _French_ Islands, and in
_France_ and _Spain_ they prefer them to these latter: But in _Germany_,
and in the North (_Fides sit penes Autorem_) they have a quite opposite
Taste. Several People mix that of _Caraqua_ with that of the Islands,
half in half, and pretend by this Mixture to make the Chocolate better.
I believe in the bottom, the difference of Chocolates is not
considerable, since they are only obliged to encrease or diminish the
Proportion of Sugar, according as the Bitterness of the Kernels require
it. For it must be considered, as we have already said, that there is
but one kind of _Cocao-Tree_, which grows as naturally in the Woods of
_Martinico_, as in those of the Coast of _Caraqua_, that t