VANILLA. 



( Vanilla planifolia, Andrews.) 



You flavor everything; you are the vanille of society. Sydney Smith: Works, p. 329. 



Vanilla planifolia belongs to the Or- ish physician Hernandez, who, during 

 chid family (Orchidaceae), though it has 1571-1577 explored New Spain or Mex- 

 many characteristics not common to most ico. In 1602, Morgan, apothecary to 

 members of the family. It is a fleshy, Queen Elizabeth, sent specimens of the 

 dark-green perennial climber, adhering fruit to Clusius, who described it inde- 

 to trees by its aerial roots, which are pro- pendently of Hernandez. In 1694 vanilla 

 duced at the nodes. The stem attains a was imported to Europe by way of Spain, 

 length of many feet, reaching to the very In France it was much used for flavoring 

 tops of the supporting trees. The young chocolate and tobacco. During the first 

 plant roots in the ground, but as the stem half of the eighteenth century it was ex- 

 grows in length, winding about its sup- tensively used in Europe, particularly in 

 port and clinging to it by the aerial roots, England, after which it seems to have 

 it loses the subterranean roots and the gradually disappeared. Now it is, how- 

 plant establishes itself as a saprophyte of ever, again very abundantly employed in 

 partial parasite, life habits common to nearly all countries. 



orchids. The leaves are entire, dark- Vanilla must be cultivated with great 

 green, and sessile. Inflorescence consists care. In Mexico a clearing is made in 

 of eight to ten flowers sessile upon axil- the forest, leaving a few trees twelve to 

 lary spikes. The flowers are a pale green- fifteen feet apart to serve as a support for 

 ish yellow, perianth rather fleshy and the vanilla plants. Cuttings of the va- 

 soon falls away from the ovary or young nilla stems are made three to five feet in 

 fruit, which is a pod, and by the casual length, one cuttingbeing inserted into the 

 observer would be taken for the flower soil to a depth of about ten inches near 

 stalk. The mature fruit is a brown curved each tree. The cuttings become rooted 

 pod six to eight inches long, smooth, in about one month and grow quite rap- 

 splitting lengthwise in two unequal parts, idly, but do not begin to bear fruit until 

 thus liberating the numerous, very small, the third year and continue to bear for 

 oval or lenticular seeds. about thirty years. In Reunion, Mau- 



There are several species of vanilla in- ritius and the Seychelles the young plants 



digenous to Eastern Mexico, growing in are supported by a rude trellis fastened 



warm, moist, shaded forests. It is now between the trunks of trees. In cultiva- 



extensively cultivated in Mexico ; also in tion pollination is universally effected ar- 



Mauritius, Bourbon, Madagascar and tificially; the pollen being transplanted 



Java. It is extensively grown in hot- from one flower to another by means of 



houses of England and other temperate a small brush or pencil. Only the finest 



countries. The wild growing plants no flowers are thus fertilized so as to pre- 



doubt depended upon certain insects for vent exhaustion and to insure a good 



pollination, but with the cultivated plants commercial article. Among wild grow- 



this is effected artificially by means of a ing plants pollination is effected through 



small brush. the agency of insects, which evidently do 



The word vanilla is derived from the not occur in the vicinity of the planta- 



Spanish vainilla, the diminutive of vaina, tions ; thus man is called upon to assist 



meaning a sheath or pod, in reference to nature. The pods are cut off separately 



the fruit. There is little doubt that the as they ripen ; if over-ripe they are apt 



natives of Mexico employed vanilla as a to. split in drying ; if collected green the 



flavor for cocoa long before the discov- product will be of an inferior quality, 

 ery of America. We received our first The peculiar fragrance of the vanilla 



description of the plant from the Span- pods is due to vanillin, which occurs upon 



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