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An. 1682
The Cacao-Tree.
The Cacao-Tree hath a body about a foot and an half thick (the largest sort) and 7 or 8 foot high to the Branches, which are large, and spreading like an Oak, with a pretty thick, smooth, dark-green leaf, shap'd like that of a Plumb-Tree, but larger. The Nuts are inclosed in Cods as big as both a Mans fists put together: At the broad end of which there is a small, tough, limber stalk, by which they hang pendulous from the body of the Tree, in all parts of it from top to bottom, scattered at irregular distances, and from the greater branches a little way up: especially at the joints of them, or partings, where they hang thickest; but never on the smaller boughs. There may be ordinarily about 20 or 30 of these Cods upon a well-bearing Tree: and they have 2 Crops of them in a year; one in December, but the best in June. The Cod itself or Shell is almost half an inch thick; neither spongy nor woody, but of a substance between both, brittle, yet harder than the Rind of a Lemmon: like which its surface is grained or knobbed, but more course and unequal. The Cods at first are of a dark Green, but the side of them next the Sun of a Muddy Red. As they grow ripe the Green turns to a fine bright Yellow, and the Muddy to a more lively beautiful Red, very pleasant to the Eye. They neither ripen, nor are gather'd at once: but for three weeks or a month, when the Season is, the Overseers of the Plantations go every day about to see which are turn'd yellow; cutting at once, it may be, not a- bove one from a Tree.. The Cods thus gathered they lay in several heaps to sweat; and then burst- ing the Shell with their hands they pull out the Nuts, which are the only substance they contain, having no stalk or pith among them; and (except- ing that these Nuts lye in regular rows, like the grains of Maize, but sticking together; and so close- ly stowed, that after they have been once separated, it