The Coolidge examiner., 1934-09-07

II sold for as much as 50 a pound.
Today good chocolate can be pur-
chased for few cents a pound, and
Is consumed In one form or another
by millions Of people the world over.
Modern methods OF cocoa and
chocolate manufacture differ little
from those used by primitive peo-
pie centuries ago. In Mexico the
natives roasted the beans and then
ground them between two warm fat
stones until n fine paste was OBJ
tained. This was sometimes mixed
with maize (corn) and favored with
vanilla and spices. The paste was
nodded into forms desired and al
lowed TO cool. Modern preparation
OF the commodity Is more scientific
and thorough, but the principal
steps taken are much the same.
Cocoa butter is an important by
product OF the cacao bean, which
contains 80 per cent fats. The but
ter. removed by crushing the beans
under hydraulic pressure, Is exten-
sively used in confectionery. and In
pharmaceutical preparations. Al
most every household has some
commodity that contains this vege-
table fat. Cocoa butter is an In
gredient OF many soaps, pomades,
perfumes. ointments, plasters, and
cosmetics.
The Gold coast colony In Africa
is normally the worlds largest pro-
ducer OF cacao. In one recent year
the colony shipped $4,000 tons of ca
Gao, valued at S10.000,OOO, to the
United States.
While the Gold coast no longer
puts its trust in gold, cacao has dis
placed the metal only within the
last few years. For 400 years gold
was the hope that glittered for white
men on the Gold coast. Gold mines
built the railroad to Seccondee for
which Takoradl Is the port. In
1924 gold shipments reached more
than $4,OO0,0O0. but the mines
seem to be nearing exhaustion. A
geological survey OF the Gold coast
colony In 1915 revealed other min
erals which may themselves relegate
gold TO the background. Manga
nese and bauxite are important ex-
ports. The first is used In steel
making and the second for alum
mum. {
Big Industry In Brazil.
In the state Of Bahia In Brazil are
about SO.O00OO0 cacao trees; this
fruit has been grown here for about
$50 years, and tiny railway serves
the heart Of the great cacao region.
II hauls more tons OF freight per
mile than any other railway line In
South America.
Leaving the Coastal plain and en-
tering the foothills, one sees the
eacao plantations in long shaded
groves. Among bigger, protecting
treee the small cacao trees are
planted. thus sheltered from sun and
wind. Twist Off green fruit, break
II open and taste the whitish seeds;
the flavor Is like watermelon. Bare
foot men and women split the pods,
empty the seeds On wide platform,
and tread them free of pulp and
pith. They call this Dancing the
Cacao."
The seeds are dried by stirring
them In big fat bin. A wide roof,
set on wheels, Is at hand, to be
hastily hauled over the bin II it
rains. Turning a dark brown when
dried, and tasting of unsweetened
chocolate when ripe, the beans are
packed in bags and sent to Europe
and the United States. In 80 years
Bahia's export has risen from 150.-
900 to 100000 bags year. Brazil
drinks very little chocolate, but
much coffee.
Near a station named Lava Pes"
or wash Your Feet" the visitor
may stop TO watch a long file of um-
brella ants. Each carries leaf as If
itwere an umbrella. Many ants are up
in a tree, biting off bits of leaf and
dropping them to other ants wait
ing on the ground. This line of
marching ants Is often a mile or
more long. The ants carry the
leaves to their underground home,
and store them. On the leaves a
fungus forms, and this the insects
eat.
Further up the line one crosses a
small stream running among cacao-
covered hills. Long chutes made OF
boards run down the hillsides to the
waters edge. Down these chutes ma
tives slide fresh cacao beans. which
empty into waiting dugOut canoes.
Although cacss has been grown
here for so long. the methods of har-
vesting 1t are still primitive, for hu-
man labor is cheap
White men find life here hard, be-
cause of so many insects and ma
laria. Bugs are a plague; horned
more than seven inches
long-larger than many kinds of
birds, snalls weighing half a pound.
and the fer de lance and other bad
snakes.