92 COCOA : ALL AIJOUT IT. 



Coniferine was discovered by HartiL;" In t86i in the sap of 

 the La7'ix Europca ; later on. its presence was recognised in all 

 species of pines and firs. 



In 1874 Messrs. Haarnian and Tiemann sliowed that the 

 Coniferine. under the inlluence of oxydizing agents properly 

 chosen, could be made to produce Vanilline, which is no other 

 than the aromatic principle of the Vanilla pod. This discovery 

 has given a certain industrial importance to Coniferine, and it has 

 alreadv been collected bv hundreds of kilogframmes in the forests 

 of North German}". 



The first consignments of \^anilline were between 1874 and 

 1878, and were prepared by a patent process — that is to say, by 

 the oxidization of the Coniferine. This is only to be found in the 

 descending sap of the pines, so in the spring incisions were made 

 at the base of the trees, and the sap which flows from them was 

 collected ; it was then filtered and exposed to the air, when it soon 

 became solid. In this state it constitutes the Coniferine, which 

 could be preserved indefinitely and made use of when required for 

 its transformation into Vanilline. 



The more modern and advantageous plan is to fell the tree, 

 cut off the branches, and strip them of their bark. The sap is 

 then collected by scraping the trunk with a sharp instrument — an 

 iron scraper or a knife — and the liquid, as it oozes out is absorbed 

 by a coarse sponge, and then squeezed into a tin bucket. If too 

 long a time elapses between these two processes the evaporation 

 is rapid enough to solidify the juice and then it cannot be collected 



