Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-02-02

lev It 0roWa and the A0thoGo - Hror
pairin9 It fof Dee.
The Msxicans call the beverage com
posed Of the pounded seeds Of the cacao
tree chocolate.
The tree 10 q handsome one, twelve
10 sixteen feet high; the trunk upright.
and about ave feet long; the wood,
light in weight and white In color: the
bark, brownish.
The leaves are lanceolAte, oblo0g.
bright green, quite entire; the flowers
are small, reddish and inodoGous. The
fruit Il smooth, Of q yellow OF red
tinge, and about three inches In diam
eter; the rind is deshy, about half an
inch in THICKNESS, hesh-colored; within
the pulp 10 white, Of the consistency
Of butter, separating from the rnd
when ripe, and adhering only to 1t BY
filaments, which pentrate It and reach
to the seeds. Hence 1t Is known when
the seeds are ripe by the rattling OF
the capsule when II IL shaken. The
pulp has a sweet and not unpleasant
taste, with a slight acidity. 1t II suck
ed and eaten raw by the natives. The
seeds are about twenty five In number;
when fresh they are of flesh color;
gathered before they are quite ripe,
they preserve them in sugar, and thus
they are very grateful to the palate.
They quickly lose their vegetation II
tsken out Of the capsule, but kept in 1t
they preserve that power for long
time. The tree bears leaves. flowers
and fruit all the year through; but the
usual seasons for gathering the fruit
are June and December. In two years
1t is about three feet high, and spreads
Its branches, not more than five OF
which are suffered to remain; in three
years 1t begins to bear fruit. A tree
yields from two to three pounds of
seeds annually. The seeds are nourish-
ing and agreeable to most people, and
are generally used in South America
and in the West India Islands.
The seeds Of the cacao were made
use Of as money in Mexico, In the time
of the Aztec kings. and this use of
them is still partially continued, the
smaller seeds being employed for the
purpose. The lowest denomination of
coin money current in Mexico Is of the
value of about twelve cents; and as
there must arise many pretty transac-
tons Of business to a lower amount
the convenience of these seeds, six of
wi ich are reckoned as the value Of one
cent. must needs be very great.
Cacao is principally used after hav-
ing been made into cakes, to which the
name of chocolate is given. The meth
Cd anciently employed by the Indians
in making these cakes was simply to
roast the seeds in eartben pots. and af-
ter clearing them from the husks,
which by reason Of the heat employed
could be easily removed, the naked
seeds We're bruised between two stones
and made up with the hands into
cakes. The process at present used by
Europeans does not differ greatly from
that just described: more care Is taken
in grinding the seeds after they are
roa sted, SO as to convert them Into a
paste which is perfectly smooth. and
some flavoring ingredients are added,
according to the taste Of the people
who are to consume the chocolate.
Cloves and Gins mon are much used for
this purpose by the Spaniards; other
aromatics, and even perfumes. such as
musk and ambergis, have sometimes
been added: but the principal flavor
ing Ingredient used with cacao 10 va
niLla.