109 



&c. These substances are however both cheap and readily obtainable, 

 and if necessity arose it w» uld be a very easy matter to mix them in a 

 proper proportion with vanillin, in order to modify the flavour of the 

 latter in the required direction. 



The foregoing statement of the present condition of vanillin manu- 

 facture indicates clearly the possibility in the near future of the re- 

 placement of vanilla as a flavouring agent by vanillin 



It is difficult to obtain reliable statistics of the production of vanilla 

 since the cultivation of this product is so widely distributed in tropical 

 countries, and the imports of it into the principal consuming countries 

 are comparatively of so little value that they are rarely separately 

 given. The United States Trade Returns for 1902, however, give a 

 table of the imports of vanilla into that country for the decennial period 

 ending in 1902, of which an abstract is given below. 



Import ofVanilhi info the United Siatrs of America. 



These figures show that although there is at present no falling oflc in 

 the demand for vanilla, there has been a great decline in value. 



The same state of things is shown by the results of the two auctions 

 held in London in February and November of the present year. At 

 the former, 2,800 tins were ?old and at the latter 1,410 tins. These 

 quantities are in excess of those of former years. The prices obtained 

 in February ranged from 22/6d. per lb. for best qualities to 14/6d. for 

 somewhat short chocolate coLaired beans, and 7/6d. to ll/6d. for "foxy 

 brown" beans. In November the best qualities realised only 17/ to 

 19/6d. per lb. short beans from 8/6d. to 11/ and p^or qualities 4/ to 7/ 

 per lb. 



It is almost impossible to give accurately the total annual production 

 of vanilla at the present time, but it may be estimated at about 350 

 tons, o^ which about 150 tons are produced in the British Colonies and 

 Bourbon, and the remainder in Mexico. Such statistics as are availa- 

 ble indicate that the total production has remained almost stationary 

 during the last few yeurs, the increased output from Seychelles and 

 Mexico being compensated by small exports from Mauritius and Bour- 

 bon. This being the case i' is evident that the depreciation in value 

 of vanilla must be ascribed almost entirely to the competition of vanillin 

 as a flavouring agent. In this connection it is desirable that it should 

 be known that the so-called " artificial vanillin" is identical in every 

 respect with the vanillin contained in vanilla, and to which the flavour 

 of the plant is chiefly if not entirely due. For this reason it is not 

 possible to encourage proposals to prevent the sale of vanillin as a 

 "substitute" for vanilla. 



(Sgd.) Wyndiiam R. Dunstan, 



29th December, 1903. 



