ueezed from the mucilaginous pulp contained in the husks of
these nuts appears like cream, and has a very grateful taste of a
cordial quality. The nuts have a light pleasant smell, and an
unctuous, bitterish, roughish (not ungrateful) taste. Those of
Nicaragua and Caracas are the most agreeable and are the largest;
those of the French Antilles, and our own West India islands, are the
most unctuous.

The Mexicans, in preparing the chocolate paste, add some long pepper,
a little annatto, and lastly vanilla; some add cinnamon, cloves and
anise, and those who love perfumes, musk and ambergris.

The finest American cacao is said to be that of Soconusco, but the
principal imports are from Caracas and Guayaquil, which is of a very
good quality. The province of Barcelona, adjoining Caracas exports
annually from 200,000 to 300,000 cwt.

The very large shipments from Guayaquil are shown by the following
return. Of this quantity Spain takes the largest portion, Mexico the
next, and England receives but a very small quantity.

Cacao exported from Guayaquil:--

lbs.
1833 6,605,786
1834 10,999,853
1835 13,800,851
1836 10,918,565
1837 8,520,121
1838 7,199,057
1839 12,169,787
1840 14,266,942

The exports of cacao from the port of La Guayra, has been as follows
in the years ending December 31.

Fanegas.
1850 40,181
1851 47,951
1852 54,083

Five fanegas are equal to one English quarter. The price of cacao was,
at the close of 1852, sixteen dollars the fanega.

The province of Caracas, according to Humboldt, at the end of the last
century, produced annually 150,000 fanegas of cacao, of which
two-thirds were exported to Spain, and the remainder locally consumed.
The shipments from the port of La Guayra alone averaged 80,000 to
100,000, or nearly double the present shipments. In the early part of
the present century the captain-generalship of Caracas produced nearly
200,000 fanegas, of which about 145,000 were sent direct to Europe.
The province of Caracas then produced 150,000 fanegas; Maracaibo,
20,000; Cumana, 18,000, and New Barcelona, 5,000.

The vallies of Aragua, in the province of Caracas, those of Cariaco,
Campano, of Rio Caribe and the banks of the river Caroni, in Spanish
Guiana, produce excellent cacao in abundance.

The tree t