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DRINKS.
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Venezuela,
Guiana,
and
most
of
the
West
India
Islands.
Commercially
the
different
sorts
rank
In
value
as
follow
:
Trinidad,
Caraccas,
Grenada,
Guay-
aquil,
Surinam,
Bahia,
Ceylon,
and
British
West
Indies.
It
grows,
as
we
see
In
the
Illustration,
somewhat
like
a
melon,
which
contains
some
fifty
or
more
seeds,
in
rows
embedded
In
a
spongy
substance,
from
which
the
seeds
are
cleansed
and
then
dried
in
the
sun,
when
It
becomes
britde
and
of
a
dark
colour
inter-
nally,
eating
like
an
oily
nut,
but
with
a
decidedly
bitter
and
somewhat
astringent
taste.
To
render
It
fit
for
food,
It
Is
gently
roasted
to
develop
the
aroma,
allowed
to
cool,
deprived
of
Its
husk,
and
then
crushed
into
small
fragments
called
cocoa
nibs,
which
is
the
purest
form
In
which
it
Is
used,
but
also
the
one
which
entails
the
greatest
trouble
In
making
a
drink
therefrom.
The
granulated,
rock,
flake,
and
soluble
cocoas
are
made
by
the
beans
being
ground
into
a
paste
In
a
rolling
mill
;
starch,
flour,
sugar,
and
other
Ingredients
being
used,
according
to
the
taste
of
different
manufacturers.
It
was
used
by
the
Mexicans
and
Peruvians
before
their
conquest
by
the
Spaniards,
and
formed
an
article
of
barter
among
them.
Columbus
brought
a
know-
ledge
of
It
to
Europe
;
but
those
were
not
the
days
of
non-alcoholic
drinks,
and
It
was
some
time
before
it
came
Into
vogue.
Naturally,
first
of
all
In
Spain,
and
to
this
day
Spain
Is
the
greatest
European
consumer
of
cocoa
In
some
shape
or
other.
It
was
Introduced
Into
England
about
the
same
time
as
tea
and
coffee,
but
the
chocolate
houses,
pure
and
simple,
as
such,
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