90 COCOA : ALL ABOUT IT. 



There are various plans used for dryino^ and preparing 

 the pods. All the care cUid success clurinL;' tlie carl)- cultivation 

 may easily be lost through want of knowledoe or watchfulness in 

 these matters. Wc therefore refer the reader to extracts from a 

 paper addressed to the Colonial Secretary, by the Assistant 

 Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Mauritius, which gives 

 a most exhaustive account of the planting, watering, ripening, 

 harvesting, curing, and preparation for the market. (See 

 Appendix.) 



The South American wild \'anilla, or Yanillon, as it is 

 generally called, is the variety V. sylvcstris, and is a much larger 

 and coarser variety than those grown for commerce. In some 

 parts of Brazil the women entwine this species of Vanilla bean in 

 their hair — a weakness for fragrance that is common all the world 

 over, although in this case it hardly fits in with our ideas of good 

 taste. 



A great variety of spices are used for the flavouring of 

 Chocolate, but Vanilla still holds the palm. In Brooke's trans- 

 lation from the French, 1730, he tells us : — -"The Spaniards try'd 

 to make it (Cocoa) more agreeable by the addition of sugar, some 

 Oriental spices and things that grow there, which it will be 

 needless to mention — there is none continued down to us but 

 Vanilla ; in like manner that Cinnamon is the only spice which 

 has had general approbation, and remains in the composition of 

 Chocolate." 



The old French writer is very strong in his denunciation of 

 Vanilla, as he goes on to say : — " Whereas Chocolate season'd 



