The Coolidge examiner., 1934-09-07
Prepared by National Geographic society,
MAnhinEton. d C.-MNu serxlea.

no YOU like hot chocolate
candy7 Chocolate cake7 Or
49, chocolate Ice cream sodas?
Then you'll be interested In the
news that science is waging a de-
termined fight TO save the famous
cacao plantations OF Trinidad, an
island In the West Indies, from a
destructive plant disease.
Trinidad is one OF the principal
sources OF the bean which furnishes
the makings' for a hot beverage
surpassed in world Importance only
by coffee and tea. as well as for
candles. sweetmeats. etc.
Chocolate was a gift to mans pal
ate from the western hemisphere.
Like tobacco. the potato, and a num-
Der OF other plant products, It was
taken back 10 Europe by explorers
soon after Columbus opened the
road 10 the new world. and launched
on the way that has led to world
markets.
In trade circles today three terms
are used: chocolate. cocoa and ca
Gao. The tropical tree which Is the
source of chocolate Is called the ca
Gao. In its leathery. cucumberllke
fruit are cacao pods which contain
cacao beans. But when the beans
are roasted and ground. and much
OF the fat Is pressed out. the re-
naming brown substance (ground
TO q dry powder), Is cocoa II the
Fat Is not pressed out, the darker
substance is chocolate.
Credit for the manufacture OF
chocolate from the hidden seed of
an unprepossessing fruit belongs to
the original inhabitants Of Mexico.
In 1919. when fernando Cortez In
vaded that country, he discovered
that the cacao tree was widely cul-
tivated. The natives had concoct-
ed a drink called chocolate" or
-cacahuatl." from which have come
the names chocolate" and cocoa"
Frothing pitchers OF chocolate were
served by Montezuma when he en-
tertained Cortez
Long In Use In Mexico.
Students OF American native Gus
toms have estimated that the drink
was In use 1000 years before the
arrival Of Europeans. According
TO Mexican mythology. the seed OF
the cacao tree was carried from q
New world version OF the Garden
OF Eden into Mexico by Quetzal-
coatl. God of Air. The fruit, 1t
Is related. was a favorite food OF
the gods. The great Swedish bot
anist Linnaeus, christened the fruit
rheobroma cacao, meaning In Greek
Food Of the Gods"
Cacao was used as a means of
barter and the payment Of tribute
by the Aztecs and Mayans. A mans
wealth was often judged by the
number OF cacao beans he pos
sessed. In Mexico a good slave could
be purchased for 100 beans.
Its highly concentrated food
value, low cost OF production, and
numerous uses, have stimulated ca
Gao cultivation to such an extent
that now II is grown In practically
all tropical countries. The wet
tropical areas OF the West African
colonies of Great Britain and Port
ugal, and the South and Central
Americas are especially well suited
to the cultivation OF the trees.
The introduction Of the cacao tree
in Africa has resulted in a remark
able growth OF the industry and eco
nomlc development of the continent.
The Gold coast has taken first place
away from Brazil In the worlds
production of cacao. What were
once trackless and useless African
jungles, inhabited only by savage
bushmen and wild animals. today
are cacao plantations.
America Largest Consumer.
AS hu luleIudllOudl COmmVullgg
the cacao bean has grown In impor-
tance TO such an extent that the
United States alone, in 1888, import
ed 474,27O.00O pounds, valued at
S18,739,OOO. The United States Is by
far the largest consumer, cacao
ranking sixteenth In value on our
list of imports. Germany, Great
Britain and the Netherlands follow
In the order named.
For many years the Spaniards Of
South America and some Of the
West Indies monopolIzed the cacao
industry. Chocolate was introduced
into Spain by Cortez and his con-
ouistadores about the beginning Of
the Sixteenth century, but the proc
ess Of chocolate manufacture was
kept a secret for almost 100 years
In 1906 an italian discovered the
method of preparation. Shortly aft
erwards, monks and travellers
spread the news throughout Europe.
The Seventeenth and Eighteenth
centCries found the popularity of the
drink steadily increasing. Cocoa
houses were established In England,
as well as on the continent.