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,
shiny, and even, and it separates any beans that may be stuck together
in clusters. 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 polishing machine.

_The Weight of the Cured Cacao Bean._

[Illustration: 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 a