In order to make the starch granules of cacao and the cells containing cacao-red distinctly visible under the microscope, it is advisable to immerse the section in a drop of almond oil, because the addition of water renders the object indistinct in consequence of the large amount of fat present. Another excellent medium for the microscopic observation of cacao is the solution of 8 parts of chloral hydrate in 5 parts of water, as recommended by Schimper.[18] By these means it may easily be seen that the pigment or cacao red in different sorts of cacao varies more or less in colour. To complete the account of the microscopic characters of the cacao cotyledon, mention must be made of the small ~vascular bundles~, generally spiral, that are distributed throughout the tissues of the cotyledons and are readily made visible by adding a drop of oil or a drop of chloral hydrate solution. f) The Commercial Sorts of the Cacao Bean. Mindful of Goethe’s dictum: ~Friend, the paths of theory are uncertain, and hid in gloom~, we propose to devote this chapter to an exclusively practical discussion of the commercial value of raw cacao, and from the merchant’s point of view. Such differences of opinion prevail in manufacturing circles as to the possible uses of each separate sort, that for this reason alone any other than a purely geographical classification would scarcely be feasible. But apart from this, varying as it does with the protective duties imposed, the commercial value of cacao can by no means remain a universal constant; and it must be noted that variations in the national taste serve to heighten its instability. This latter circumstance also causes a deviation from the nearly related principal that the Motherland becomes chief consumer of the varieties grown in her colonies. The cacao sorts of the English Gold-Coast running under the collective name of ~Accra~, have taken complete possession of the German market; Trinidad cacao enjoys immense popularity in France, and the Dutch pass on the larger part of their Java importations to other consuming nations. As regards this latter sort, however, the fact they are chiefly employed as colouring and covering stuffs for other cacaos must be taken into consideration.