1/6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



vanillin is the chief flavoring substance of the vanilla l)ean, 

 other flavors are present, although in quantities too small to 

 be detected by chemical means, which give to the extract a 

 delicate bouquet which cannot be equaled in a purely artifi- 

 cial extract. Nature follows secret processes in her labora- 

 tory which the chemist cannot exactly copy. Artificial vanil- 

 lin, artificial indigo, and artificial wintergreen oil are now 

 made cheaply from chemicals, but the products made in the 

 old-fashioned way have not yet been equaled and still are 

 demanded by the best trade. 



The addition of Tonka bean extract or artificial coumarin 

 to vanilla extract increases its strength and reduces its price 

 at the expense of quality. Some, however, appear to prefer 

 a little Tonka flavor in their vanilla, just as some prefer a 

 mixture of coffee and chicory to pure coffee. In matters of 

 taste, each man must be a law unto himself, and the pure food 

 law, by requiring the proper labeling of such extracts as 

 " compounds," should assist the individual in getting what 

 he likes under its true name and at a fair price. 



Cheap extracts containing artificial vanillin, Tonka bean 

 extract, or coumarin certainly should be sold for what they 

 are and not allowed to compete unfairly with the more ex- 

 pensive and better-flavored extract made from the vanilla 

 bean. 



Oil of lemon is made in Sicily and other Mediterranean 

 countries from the rind of lemon, the best grades by simple 

 expression and clarification, the cheaper by distillation. 



It is quoted at from eighty-five to ninety-five cents per 

 pound at wholesale. Extract or essence of lemon, prepared 

 according to the United States Pharmacopoea, is a five per 

 cent, solution of the oil in strong alcohol colored with lemon 

 peel. 



The materials for a quart of good extract cost about 

 seventy-five cents — sixty cents for the alcohol and fifteen 

 cents for the oil and peel — or about two and one-half cents 

 per ounce. Since an ounce bottle usually costs at retail at 

 least ten cents, there is a margin of about seven and one-half 

 cents to cover cost of manufacture, cost of package, and labels 

 and profits. One would suppose this to be a fair margin, but 

 the extract manufacturers, like Oliver Twist, are always call- 

 ing for more. As four-fifths of the cost of a good extract is 



