Amedei of Tuscany, Italy is probably the world's finest chocolate manufacturer. The small company was founded by a brother and sister, Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri in 1990, and manufactures chocolate from the start to finish, selecting the finest cocoa beans primarily from Venezuela and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada), Ecuador and Madagascar and turning them into chocolate - in contrast to large chocolate companies which buy blocks of chocolate from large commercial factories which use low grade cocoa beans from large plantations and refined sugar to make the chocolate they then sell on. Research Amedei
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
Soil erosion is the wearing away and redistribution of the Earth's soil layer. It is caused by the action of water, wind, and ice, and also by improper methods of agriculture. If unchecked, soil erosion results in the formation of deserts (a process known as desertification). It has been estimated that 20% of the world's cultivated topsoil was lost between 1950 and 1990. If the rate of erosion exceeds the rate of soilformation (from rock and decomposing organic matter), then the land will become infertile.
The removal of forests (the process of deforestation) or other vegetation often leads to serious soil erosion, because plant roots bindsoil, and without them the soil is free to wash or blow away, as in the American dust bowl. The effect is worse on hillsides, and there has been devastating loss of soil where forests have been cleared from mountainsides, as in Madagascar. Improved agricultural practices such as contour ploughing are needed to combat soil erosion. Windbreaks, such as hedges or strips planted with coarse grass, are valuable, and organic farming can reduce soil erosion by as much as 75%. Soil degradation and erosion are becoming as serious as the loss of the rainforest. Research Soil Erosion
Aepyornis was a genus of gigantic birds once found in Madagascar, where it is supposed to have lived perhaps not longer than 200 years ago. It had three toes and is classed with the cursorial birds (ostrich, etc.) and laid eggs 35 centimeters in length - about six times the bulk of those of the ostrich. The bird which laid them may well have been. the roc of Eastern tradition. Research Aepyornis
Betel (Piper betel) is a climbing shrub of the family Peperaceae indigenous through Madagascar and the Malay peninsular. The leaves contain a volatile oil which contains betel-phenol and chavicol, and is used as a masticatory. Research Betel
Cocoa (Cacao) is a small tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae, natural order Byttneriaceae native to tropical America. The tree is five to six metres high and much cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres, especially in the West Indian Islands, Central and South America and Africa. The leaves are about 10 cm in length, smooth but not glossy, and of a dull-green colour; the flowers are saffron-coloured, and very beautiful.
The fruit consists of pointed, oval, ribbed pods 15 to 25 cm long. The cultivated trees bear fruit all the year round, but the gathering is chiefly in June and December. The pods are removed by knives attached to the ends of poles. The pods are at first green, but as they ripen they change to a fine bluish-red, or almost purple colour, and in some varieties to a yellow or lemon colour. Each pod encloses 50 or more seeds in a white, sweetish pulp; and the seeds or 'beans' have each a parchment-like covering enclosing a whitish pulp. These are very nutritive, containing 50 per cent of fat, are of an agreeable flavour, and used, both in their fresh state and when dried, as an article of diet. Cocoa and chocolate are made from them, the former being a. powder obtained by grinding
the seeds, and often mixed with other substances when prepared for sale, the latter being this powder mixed with sugar and various flavouring matters and formed into solid cakes. The seeds when roasted and divested of their husks and crushed are known as cocoa nibs. The seeds yield also an oil called butter of cacao, used in pomatum and for making candles, soap, etc.
The best quality cocoa comes from Venezuela, Ecuador, the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad and Greanada) and Madagascar. This accounts for about two percent of the cocoa produced, the remaining 98 per cent is low grade cocoa lacking aroma and quality, and which is used in 99.99 per cent of commercial chocolate. Research Cocoa
The fossa or Foussa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a large carnivorous mammal found only in Madagascar. It is about the size of an otter, but is related to the civet and mongoose. It is brown in colour, has a long tail, short legs, teeth like a cat's and lives mainly in trees feeding on birds and small mammals. Research Fossa
The Guinea-fowl (pintado) is a genus of gallinaceous birds of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants). They are originally natives of Africa. The common guinea-fowl (Numida meleagris), now well known as a domestic fowl, has a grey slate-coloured plumage varied with round white spots. It is about the size of a common fowl, and is of a noisy and quarrelsome disposition. Its eggs are esteemed. Among the other species of guinea-fowl may be mentioned the Numida vulturma (or Acrylium vulturinum), by far the most beautiful, with somewhat vulturine head and neck;
the Numida mitrata, found in eastern Africa and in Madagascar; and the Numida cristata, a native of South Africa. Research Guinea-fowl
Kalanchoe is a genus of varying succulent evergreen plants, ranging from shrubs to small trees from southern Africa and Madagascar that thrive in hot, dry climates. Some species are popular as houseplants in Britain, with Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (Flaming Katy, Tom Thumb) being a waxy-leafed, red, yellow or pink flowering popular variety growing to about 28 cm high. Research Kalanchoe
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Amedei
