156 ODOROGRAPHIA, 
sufficiently dry they are tied into bundles, each of them being 
composed of iifty pods of uniform length. In this manner three 
commercial sorts are obtained, and termed as follows :—1. “ Fine 
vanilla,’ 8 to 11 inches long, very dark brown or nearly black, 
unctuous, glossy and clean-looking, and finely furrowed in a 
longitudinal direction. These soon become covered with an abund- 
ance of the frost-like efflorescent crystals technically called “givre.” 
2. “ Woody vanilla,” 6 to 8 inches long, lighter in colour, more 
or less spotted with grey, not glossy. These are generally the 
produce of pods gathered in an unripe state. They frost or 
“ givre” very little, if at all. 3. “ Vanillons,” of which there 
are two sorts, those obtained from short but ripe fruit, which are 
excellent and frost well, and those from abortive and unripe fruit, 
whose perfume is simply the result of absorption from the fine 
beans with which they have so long been in contact. 
There are modifications of these processes, but they do not 
materially differ. Of course under different climatic conditions 
different modes of curing are adopted, but the sweating or fermen- 
tation must be effected by one means or another. 
The finished product being sorted and tied up into bundles 
according to the length of the pods, is finally packed into tin 
boxes of different dimensions according to the length of the 
bundles ; each box containing 10 to 12 kilogrammes ; no paper 
or wrapper whatever being enclosed, as such might be injurious 
to the preservation of the pods. ‘The boxes are soldered up and 
labled according to the quality of the contents. 
Adulteration.—Vanilla is subject to frequent falsification. It 
is sometimes found that the greater part of the odoriferous prin- 
ciple has been abstracted by alcohol, and an inferior odour sub- 
stituted by rubbing the pods with Balsam of Peru. The pods are 
sometimes even filled with sand and other matters to give them 
weight, and it is not an uncommon fraud to dust them over with 
benzoic acid to imitate the fine qualities which are naturally frosted 
with the crystals of vanillin which form on them, 
Aromatic Principles. 
The fruit of the vanilla, whether matured by nature on the plant 
or finished by artificial process, exhales one of the finest odours 
produced in the vegetable kingdom. Some odours may be cited 
which somewhat recall it, as those of the Pothos odoratissima, 
Heliotropium Peruvianum, Eryobotrya Japonica, Tonka bean, An- 
