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“...days or a week, being, however, occasionally " turned
over ” during that time. Fermentation takes place, and the
beans are then spread out on large flat trays called “ barbecues ’’
or “ boucans.” On these trays they are “ danced,” that is to
say, the black labourers dance or trample on them in order to
remove the dry pulp, and the beans are then dried in the sun.
The boucans have sliding roofs, which are closed over them when,
as is often the case in the middle of the day, the sun is too power-
ful, or when it comes on to rain. In some cases artificial drying
apparatus is used. When the cacao is quite dry or “ cured,”
it is shipped in bags, each bag containing roughly 1J cwt.
In the United Kingdom, Empire cacao enjoys a tariff prefer-
ence of 2s. 4d. per cwt., and under the trade agreement with...”
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“...pioneer. In
1907 a new Trinidad Petroleum Company started to bore on
lanH owned by him and Dr. de Wolf near the Pitch Lake, with
.so great a measure of success that they were very soon able to
dispose of the venture to the Trinidad Oilfields, Ltd., a company
which was successfully floated in 1910, advantage being taken
of a slight boom on the London oil share market. The capital
consisted of £300,000 in £1 shares and 175,000 shares which
were offered were considerably over-subscribed. This success-
ful flotation was the signal for the start of the regular boom
in oil-bearing lands and licences in Trinidad. Within a year,
companies with a nominal capital of upwards of £2,500,000 were
•formed. • , .
Meanwhile development work steadily proceeded, and in
addition to the Canadian and the English companies above
referred to, the concessionaires of the Pitch Lake were them-
selves boring for oil under the name of the Trinidad Lake
Petroleum Company, Ltd., and meeting with very favourable
On April 29th...”
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