Norwich bulletin., 1915-02-13
FOOD FOR THE GODS
Found PisntifulIy in Five South Amer
 ican Localities.

Tn every civilized country of the world the dark brown cake of com mercial chocolate is known. and wher- ever candies and corfectiOns delight the appetite for. sweets shared by many of the adults and practically all of the children Of all nations the choc- plate coated bon-bon is q favorite Chocolate has become both food and drink in many lands, but Of the mil lions who now use it compa ra tiveiy few know tDat it is made from a bean which grows on q beautiful tropical tree" writes Edward A1bes in the Jan
 nary number of the Bulletin of the Pan American Union. Still, it is quite an old story, this drinking of choco- late. cocoa. or cacao, as the author points out in his story. Columbus is said to have introduced the delightful drink into Europe, for Cacao is iudi- EeuOus to the tropical regions of the Americas, and prior to the discovery of tho western world it was unknown elsewhere.
 Chocolal as it was known by the AztecS of Mexico formed the faNo-ite beverage of the luxurious Nontezuns, no less than fifty jars being prepared for that rnonarch's daily consumption The Incas of Peru cultivated great fields Of cacao, and the connection made from the bean had been iu use among them for centuries before the Spanish conquest. So the story of cacao is rather old in the New world and q little over 400 years young in the Old
 Theobrorla cacao- is. the scientific name of the tree, and 1t means food for the sods.' II is found most pleu- tifully in Ecuador. Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela and the Dominican repub- lie. It grows to d height Of 16 or IS feet when cultivated. The fruit is pod shaped like a cucumber from : To 10 inches long and from 5 to 1 inches in diameter. has 8 thick leatheTy riCd, and it's interior is divided into five lons cells. in each of which is a. TOW of from five to ten seeds imbedded in a soft pink pulp. These seeds, which look much like thick almonds. are the cacao beans Of commerce.
 The picking on large plantations generally takes place twice Q. year, al- though there are no regular seasons the trees frequently having buds, flow CTS and fully ripened pods on them at the same time The pods, which grow directly out of the trunk as well as from the limbs, are cut off with a specially designed instrument known as a. cacao picker" a sharp N-shaped constructed that each pod may be cut from the tree by skilled wor5ulen without damaging either the other pods or the limbs of the tree The sev- cred pods are gathered in heaps and left lying on the ground for d day or two before being opened and the beans or shelled After the acid juice and pulp has been removed the beans are assorted according to size and state of ripeness and then taken to the sweating boxes These are made of Wod, are cubi cjn form and from three or four feet each way in size. They are provided with q Grat- ing at the base through which the Iio- uid products of fermentation can pass away. The beans are placed in these and allowed to feTment for several days. and then taken out and dried either by the natural aSenco of the sun or by the mechanical means of hot air blasts They are tiien ready for the market -.
 Upon their arrival zt the factory tho