388 Transactions. — Botany. 



Addendum. — In order to make my memoir the more com- 

 plete I have endeavoured to get, from official sources, the 

 amount in weight of bananas imported annually into this 

 colony, but have failed, owing to no distinction having been 

 made in the sorts of fruits imported, all being classed together, 

 but only in the countries producing them. I may, however, 

 give the following official amounts of fruits imported from two 

 principal places within the tropics in the South Sea, which 

 includes (at least) four kinds of fruits commonly used — viz., 

 bananas, pine-apples, cocoanuts, and oranges — omitting the 

 Australian Colonies : — 



1891. 

 1892. 



2. Of Vanilla planifolia, Andrews, 



This plant — a species of oixhid, anciently cultivated by the 

 Aztecs (and, curiously enough, for one of the very same pur- 

 poses for which it is now so extensively used all over the world 

 — viz., to flavour their drinks, one of which was cocoa), is also 

 an indigenous plant of Mexico, and is still cultivated by them. 

 Vanilla was formerly confined to a very limited area, and 

 being an orchid, and a dainty tropical product, was scarce, and 

 long considered difficult of cultivation, but of late years, and 

 through the practical application of scientific knowledge, its 

 production has wonderfully increased, so that it has become a 

 large and pretty general article of commerce. 



Few, perhaps, of my audience this evening know much 

 respecting this plant save in connection with ice-creams and 

 superior chocolate. The sceiited vanilla of commerce is 

 merely the seed-pod of the plant, and, seeing it is now so 

 well known by name, and so commonly used, a few interesting 

 items respecting it and its early history and introduction into 

 Europe, and the triumph of science combined with skilled 

 persevering labour in bringing it on to a proper consummation, 

 may not be considered out of place. 



There is an excellent paper on the early history of vanilla 

 in Europe by Professor Morren, of the University of Liege, 

 from which I take several quotations. Professor Morren was 

 one of the first (if not the very first) who succeeded in obtain- 

 ing ripe fruits from the vanilla in Europe. He says, — 



" Having been fortunate enough to obtain two years since, 

 and at two difi'erent times, an abundant crop of this interest- 

 ing fruit, I believe I may assert that henceforth we may pro- 

 duce in Europe vanilla of as good a quality, if not better, as 

 that which is exported from Mexico. • . . . My experi- 



