346 PHARMACOPEIAL DRUGS 



demand upon the plant's vitality would cause it to 

 perish before the pods could ripen. 



GATHERING THE VANILLA. The vine blossoms from 

 March to June; the pod matures in about two and one- 

 half months, but does not ripen until January or Feb- 

 ruary. Some persons consider that a greenish-yellow 

 color of the pod establishes its ripeness, while others 

 contend that the only sure criterion is the crackling 

 sound produced when the ripe pod is pinched between 

 the fingers. Unfortunately, most vanilla is picked 

 before it ripens, as early as October or November, one 

 reason being a demand for the new crop. 



CURING VANILLA. The value of vanilla depends 

 greatly on the success of the curing process, for during 

 the manipulation the flavor of the bean is developed by 

 a peculiar, artificial fermentation. J. Ch. Sawer (574) 

 makes the following statements with regard to the 

 processes employed in Mexico, and also hi Reunion, 

 Peru and Guiana: 



CURING IN MEXICO. From Sawer we extract as 

 follows: 



"The pods are placed in heaps under a shed, protected 

 from sun and rain, and in a few days, when they begin 

 to shrivel, they are submitted to the sweating process. 

 If the weather happens to be warm and fine, the pods 

 are spread out in the early morning on a woolen blanket 

 and exposed to the direct rays of the sun, the dark 

 coffee-color which they acquire being deeper in propor- 

 tion to the success of the sweating operation. In cloudy 

 weather the vanilla is made into bundles; a number of 

 them are packed together into a small bale, which is 

 first wrapped in a woolen cloth, then in a coating of 

 banana leaves, and the whole, inclosed in a mat, is 



