Undoubtedly the Strickland method, or some modification of it, is the best, and is now in general use on all considerable estates where the harvest is 200 piculs or upward per annum, and its use probably assures a more uniform product than any of the ruder processes in common use by small proprietors. But it must not be forgotten that the present planters in the Philippines are all small proprietors, and that until such time as the maturing of large plantations calls for the more elaborate apparatus of the Strickland pattern, some practice whereby the inferior crude bean may be economically and quickly converted into a marketable product can not be avoided. As simple and efficacious as any is that largely pursued in some parts of Venezuela, where is produced the famous Caracas cacao. The beans and pulp are thrown into wooden vats that are pierced with holes sufficient to permit of the escape of the juice, for which twenty-four hours suffices. The vat is then exposed to the sun for five or six hours, and the beans, while still hot, are taken out, thrown into large heaps, and covered with blankets. The next day they are returned to the box, subjected to a strong sun heat and again returned to the heap. This operation is repeated for several days, until the beans, by their bright chocolate color and suppleness, indicate that they are cured. If, during the period of fermentation, rain is threatened or occurs, the beans are shoveled, still hot, into bags and retained there until they can once more be exposed to the sun. Before the final bagging they are carefully hand rubbed in order to remove the adherent gums and fibrous matters that did not pass off in the primary fermentation. In Ceylon, immediately after the beans have been fermented they are washed, and the universally high prices obtained by the Ceylon planters make it desirable to reproduce here a brief résumé of their method. The fermentation is carried on under sheds, and the beans are heaped up in beds of 60 cm. to 1 meter in thickness upon a platform of parallel joists arranged to permit of the escape of the juices. This platform is elevated from the ground and the whole heap is covered with sacks or matting. The fermentation takes from five to seven days, according to the heat of the atmosphere and the size of the heap, and whenever the temperature rises above 40° the mass is carefully turned over with wooden shovels. Immediately after the fermentation is completed the Ceylon planter passes the mass through repeated washings, and nothing remains but to dry the seed. This in Ceylon is very extensively done, in dryers of different kinds, some patterned after the American fruit dryer, some in slowly rotating cylinders through the axis of which a powerful blast of hot air is driven.