Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 296, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1911 — CACAO GROWING IN ECUADOR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CACAO GROWING IN ECUADOR

ECUADOR has a treasury of wealth in her vast cacao groves. Cacao is cocoa. It Is also chocolate. Botanists and philologists have been telling the public that the correct way to write cocoa Is cacao, but the ruling of the advertising man commands a wider reading than the decisions of scientists, so as long as the public is admonished to “Drink fulanos cocoa” in two-foot type on every billboard, the fashion in the name will favor the latter spelling. Outside of English-speak-ing countries the scientific spelling holds. Chocolate Is different In derivation. It is a corruption of a similar sounding Aztec word which, translated literally, meant "water from the choco.” Cortes transcribed this word as cacao, and this completes its etymology. The difference In spelling has led to a useful trade distinction. Cacao now signifies the raw and cocoa the finished product. Chocolate is a variation which will be explained later. The cacao bean must not be confused with the coca, the plant of Peru which yields a leaf chewed by the Indians for its stimulating properties due to the cocaine content; nor with the cola nut of West Africa, which resembles it in a slight degree chemically; nor yet with the cocoanut, to which it has no relation. The cacao tree Is Indigenous to Mexico, Central America, and part of South America; but has become naturalized in Ceylon, the Philippines, Kamerun and the gold coast. Thus it is seen to be an essentially tropical cultivation growing in areas of 20

degrees on either side of the equator. Altitude has a direct influence on suitability of location for cacao cultivation, the plantations lying in a plane from 656 to 2,600 feet high. The tree was originally a wild evergreen. growing from 16 to 40 feet high and bearing a fruit tn which the seeds lie buried in a cucumber-shaped pod five to ten Inches long and three, to four inches thick. The seed, which is the raw cacao of commerce, resembles a thick almond in size an<T shape. When ripe the pods are cut from the tree by means of a queer forked knife with a curved blade on one side, set on life end of a long pole. This odd implement serves to remove the fruit from the tree without injury The pods are gathered in heaps and left on the ground for a day or two before they are judged fit to be cured. The process of curing is an extremely delicate one and to a great extent determines the flavor and quality of the finished product Fermentation and dfying are the two main steps and naturally follow shelling and bronzing Analyses of the cured bean show that It is rich in fat*, albuminoid* caffeine, and theobromine, which latter “drink of the Gods” give* to cacao and chocolate their real character. Chocolate differs from cocoa in that the “cocoa butter.” a fat that is con tained in the nib* of the bean*. I* pan of the first compound, but is avoided in the latter. Coco* 1* really a factory product and the cured bean is treated differently in different countries, to ardor

te produce a drink that suits the taste of the public catered to. Dutch cocoa is sold largely in England, English meets with favor In the United States, while American and French chocolates sell all over the world. The ever-in-creasing consumption of chocolate-cov-ered candies and Its use as a flavoring extract guarantees a progressive market for the cacao bean, a market that will be made more accessible to the owners of the large cacao estates that cover Ecuador with the opening of the Panama canaf. The Panama Hat. The Panama hat Is made In Panama. This statement would not have been true several years ago, for although this special style of straw hat was universally designated “Panama," It was manufactured in the province of Manabi, Ecuador, where it passed under the native name of “jlpljapa.” But a president of the Panama republic, realizing the Inconsistency of not producing an article that paraded so extensively under his country’s name, set about encouraging the cultivation of Carludovlca palmato, the shrub which furnishes the toqullla straw for the hats, imported weaving teachers from Ecuador, established a school, and sd encouraged the “infant industry” that today Panama' has every right to stand godfather to the jipijapa hat. It is a mistake to suppose that the high price of Panama hats is the result of the cost of the special straw from which they are made. In fact, high import duties and commissions account for the prohibitive prices of the ordinarily good article when purchased in the United States; but it Is true that rich planters along the Equadorian coast and in Panama are willing to pay <BO or >IOO for the finest hats made, and these are seldom seen In northern countries. A hat of the very best -quality Is so pliant and flexible that It can be folded and carried in the pocket without the slightest injury. One sent to the former Prince of Wales could be folded Into a package no larger than a watch.

ine raw material, or toqullla straw, out of which the Panama hats are made, and which supplies those qualities which make for compactness, lightness, durability, elasticity, and the waterproof properties of the finished article, grows chiefly in Ecuador. although it is also found in Colombia and in the forests of the upper Amazon. The shrub is from six to ten feet high and thrives best in hot and humid regions. It is fan shaped, resembling the saw palmetto, the quality of the straw varying much in different localities, and in this variation is based the difference tn cost of the woven Panama hat. The price of the raw material depends upon the place of production, color, length, thickness and number of threads to the strand or skein of the freshly gathered straw. It was formerly stated that Panama hats were woven under water, which is not strictly true, although the straw must be kept thoroughly moistened while in the hands of the weaver. A skilled manipulator of toqullla will complete one hat in five or six months, working always tn the late twilight or early town, the only time available for making the best grades of Panamas. Most of the hat* are bought up by native traveling buyer* who go from village to village, picking up the output. wfiicb Is eventually exported to Europe and the United States, although there is always a steady demand for Panamas in all Latin America. These hat* have, proved to be the ideal head covering for warm weather or for use in tropical countries They are comfortable, light, offer protection from the sun’* rays, ar* Impervious to water, and* last indefinitely. A good Panama may be cleaned and cleaned again year after year without deterioration.

Palm From Which Hats Ara Made.