254 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



the pods. For this purpose the pods are exposed in a ven- 

 tilated drying room for a period of i to 2 months. Various 

 other processes have been adopted for sweating and fermenting 

 the vanilla pods to develop the proper aroma. 



The vanilla plant flowers once a year and begins to bear 

 at the age of 3 years. The world's vanilla crop amounts to 

 about 600 tons of pods annually. Vanilla-producing coun- 

 tries at present stand in the following order : Tahiti, Mexico, 

 Reunion, Comores, Madagascar, Seychelles, Guadeloupe, Mau- 

 ritius, and Ceylon. Vanilla is used chiefly in flavoring choco- 

 late liqueurs, and confectionery. The artificial vanillin has 

 been made synthetically from eugenol, the characteristic prin- 

 ciple in oil of cloves. Artificial vanillin is much cheaper than 

 real vanilla but has not succeeded in displacing the latter to 

 any great extent. Vanillon (V. pompona) of Mexico yields 

 a low-grade vanilla. This product is much more easily cured 

 than the commercial vanilla and the pods do not show a ten- 

 dency to split during the process of curing. The flowers are 

 larger and the pods considerably thicker. 



