Theobroma cacao, so classed by Linnæus, the celebrated Swedish
naturalist, is a beautiful tree found only in the tropical countries.
The Mexican name of the tree is _Cocoquahuilt_, and the name
_Theobroma_, is derived from two Greek words meaning “food of the
gods.”
In the beautiful valleys of Mexico and Venezuela the cacao tree is
found in its most perfect beauty and in the highest cultivation. Under
that genial climate, vegetation is perennial, and leaves, buds, flowers
and fruits are seen together at all seasons, presenting a charming and
harmonious array of most picturesque and varied colors—the graceful
ornament of the forest of the New World.
The tree is exceedingly delicate; it must have warmth, shade and
moisture; the heat should never be less than 70° F.; it must not be
transplanted out of its native soil, and, to produce good fruit,
it wants a particular quality of land, temperature and atmospheric
conditions, which are found united only in the intertropical regions of
the American Continent.
The longest period of production of the theobroma cacao tree is from
eight to thirty years; it bears usually about a hundred _pods_
(cabosses or mazorcas) of a form and color resembling cucumbers,
containing a number of beans enclosed in a rose-colored spongy pulp,
which is of itself an article of food.
There are two crops of the pods gathered during the year, in June and
December, although the fruit may be collected throughout the whole
year, as the pods are continually opening.
The composition of the seed in which amylaceous matter is combined with
oil, contains also a principle similar in nature to theïn and caffeïn.
As soon as the fruit is collected, the beans are separated from the
pulp and dried in the sun. In some countries they are placed in large
tubs and covered for several days for the purpose of undergoing a
slight fermentation.
The most esteemed of the known kinds of cacao beans are the following:
The _Soconuzco_ and _Tabasco_ Cacaos of Mexico; the _Caracas_ Cacaos
from Venezuela, among which are the celebrated plantations of _Chuao_,
_Maracaibo_, _Tuy_, _Porto-Cabello_, _San-Felipe_, and many others.
The second class embraces: _Para_ or _Maragnon_, and _Bahia_ from
Brazil, some from Trinidad, Martinique, Cuba, and other West India
Islands, some from Ceylon, Bourbon and Philippine Islands, and some
from Florida and Louisiana in the United States.