To make chocolate, the beans are dried, the skins removed, and the mass is pounded in a mortar, then placed upon a rolling board and rolled. Quantities of sugar are added to neutralize the bitterness of the kernel, with vanilla to give the whole flavor. This makes a paste that is a great favorite with all classes of Spaniards and natives, both as a confection and when made into a beverage; yet but little more of the fruit is grown on the islands than is necessary for home consumption. The dried bean is safe as an export, but the cacao tree has many enemies; and when the crop has come to ripening, in spite of threatened disease and destroying vermin, it may be ruined by a tempest in a single hour. These vicissitudes discourage the planter, who seldom tries to do more than secure enough of the cacao bean for family use. The trees are usually planted in gardens near the house, and the chocolate-paste is made at home. A small quantity of the bean is sent annually to Spain; and there is a chocolate factory in Manila for the benefit of those that do not care to trouble themselves with either the growth of the fruit or the preparation of the kernel. The oil of the cocoa is used also for lighting the houses and streets.
It is impossible to find better chocolate than that made by the friars of the Philippines. Special pains are taken with the cacao tree, which is planted in the orchards and gardens of the monasteries, and in the manufacture of the paste and in the making of the beverage. Care must be used in the selection of soil and locality; the tree must be shaded by the taller banana; the planter must be able to risk the loss of an occasional harvest, caused by vermin, disease, or tempest; and in good years the planter will get a return of 90 per cent. on his capital. The fact remains, however, that few colonists are willing to take chances in a crop, that, at the last minute, can be easily ruined.
The Traffic in Birds’ Nests.
The Philippine Islands are rich in growths that would seem strange to an American—edible birds’-nests, roots, nuts, grasses, fruits, and the like. The bird’s nest is sold in large quantities to the Chinese, who make a soup of it,—nauseous, indeed, to foreigners. It is built by a little creature resembling the swallow; is pasty-white in appearance, dotted with red spots. The nests are found high up, in almost inaccessible caves, on cliffs above the sea. Nest-gathering is an occupation by itself, very dangerous, and followed by natives of only extreme hardihood and agility. The birds are robbed of their nests as soon as they are completed, and this first gathering is sold to the Chinese at enormous prices. The bird patiently builds another home, and is again despoiled. The second gathering, however, is deemed second-class in the market; and the third gathering is even more inferior. And ’tis only the approach of the rainy season that protects the bird in the laying of its eggs and in the care of its young.
