VAN 



^iccount of the fruit. The foivers are faid to be very fra- 

 grant, efpecially at night. Mr. Salilhury is erroneoufly 

 charo-ed, in Andrew s's work, with having confounded this 

 and the F. aromatka. 



The fpecies of this genus are far from being all known or 

 underllood. 



The plant which produces the fruit called vanilla or 

 banilla by the Spaniards, or the epidendrum ■vamlla of Lin- 

 naeus, has a traihng ilenri,' fomewhat like the common 

 ivy, but not fo woody, which fattens itfelf to any tree that 

 grows near it by fmall fibres or roots produced at every 

 joint ; thefe attach themfelves to the bark of the tree ; and 

 by them the plants are often nourifhed, when they are cut 

 or broken off, from the root, at a confiderable height from 

 the ground, as is the cafe with the ivy in England. The 

 leaves are as large as thofe of the common laurel, and are 

 produced alternately at every joint. It rifes to the height 

 of eio-hteen or twenty feet, and the flowers arc of a greenilh- 

 yellow mixed with white, which, when fallen, are fucceedsd 

 by the fruit, which is eight or ten inches long. 



The fort which is manufaftured, grows not only in the 

 bay of Campeachy, but alfo at Carthagena, at the Caraccas, 

 Honduras, Darien, and Cayan, at all which places the fruit 

 is gathered and preferved ; but it is rarely found in any of 

 the Enghfh fettlernents, though it might be eafily propa- 

 gated in them : for the ihoots are fo full of juice, that they 

 will continue frefh, out of the ground, for leveral months. 



When thele plants are intended for propagation in the 

 warm parts of America, nothing more is required than to 

 make cuttings of three or four joints in length, which 

 ihould be planted clofe to the ftems of trees in low marftiy 

 places, and the ground about them kept clear of weeds. 



The method ufed to preferve the fruit is, when it turns 

 of a yellow colour, and begins to open, to gather it, and lay 

 ■it^n fmall heaps to ferment two or three days, in the fame 

 manner as is praClifed for the cocoa pods ; then they fpread 

 them in the fun to dry, and when they are about half dried, 

 they flat them with their hands, and afterwards rub them 

 over with the oil of palma Chrifti, or of the cocoa ; then 

 they expofe them to the fun again to dry, and afterwards 

 tliey rvib them over with oil a fecond time ; then they put 

 them in fmall bundles, covering them with the leaves of the 

 Indian reed to preferve them. Thefe plants produce but 

 one crop of fruit in a year, which is commonly ripe in May, 

 fit for gathering, for they do not let them remain on the 

 plants to be perfectly mature. When they are about half 

 changed yellow, they efteem them better for keeping than 

 when thoroughly ripe ; at which time the fruit fplits. 

 While the fruit is green it affords no remarkable fcent, but 

 as it ripens it diffufes a moft grateful aromatic fmell ; but 

 when it begins to open, the birds attack them, and devour 

 the feeds greedily. 



The fruit which is brought to Europe is of a dark -brown 

 colour ; wrinkled on the outiide, and full of a v^ft number 

 of black feeds, like grains of faud, of a pleafant fmell, like 

 balfam of Peru. 



This fruit is only ufed in England as an ingredient in 

 chocolate, to which it gives an agreeable flavour to fome 

 palates, though it is difagreeable to others ; but the Spa- 

 nifh phyficians ufe it in medicine, and efteem it grateful to 

 the ftomach and brain, good for expelling wind, for pro- 

 voking urine, refifting poifon, and curing the bite of ve- 

 nomous animals. Miller's Gard. Dift. 



The 'canillas, or vanilloes, have an unftuous aromatic tafte, 

 and a fragrant fmell, like that of fome of the finer balfams 

 heightened with mu(k. They are ufed chiefly in perfumes : 

 fcarcely ever among us in any medical intention ■ though 



VAN 



they (hould feem to deferve a place among the principal 

 medicines of the nervous clafs. By dillillation, they im- 

 pregnate water ftrongly with their fragrance, but give over 

 little or nothing with pure fpirit. By digeftion, fpirit 

 totally extrafts their fincU and tafte ; and in great meafure 

 covers or fuppreltes the fmell. 



VANINI, LuciLlo, in Biography, a reputed atheift, 

 was born about the year 1585, at Taurofano, in the diftrift 

 of Otranto, and kingdom of Naples. He ftudied philo- 

 fophy and theology at Rome, where he changed his bap- 

 tifmal name for " Julio Cefare," and completed his educa- 

 tion at Naples and Padua, comprehending medicine, law, 

 and aftronomy. Poffeffmg himfelf unfortunately of the 

 works of Cardan and Pomponazzi, he imbibed their re- 

 veries ; which, with the philofophy of Ariftotle and 

 Averroes, and the delufions of aftrology, contributed to 

 complete what may be called the confuiion of his mind. 

 Having entered into orders, and began to preach, his dif- 

 courfes were a medley of fingular notions, which neither he 

 nor any one elfe could underftand. With a view of propa- 

 gating his opinions, he travelled into Germany, the Nether- 

 lands, France, and England, in which latter countrj- he was 

 for a fliort time imprifoned, on account of his theological 

 difputations. At Geneva, where he fet up a fchool of 

 philofophy, he was fufpedcd of unfound and dubious faith, 

 and therefore removed to France, pafling fome years at 

 Lyons and at Paris. At this time, he was fo far from 

 being wiUing to acknowledge his defertion of the CathoHc 

 faith, that he propofed to the apoftolic nuncio at Paris to 

 write an apology for the council of Trent. In 1615 he 

 publiftied at Lyons his " Amphitheatrum asternae Providen- 

 tiae, Divino-magicum, Chriiliano-phyficuni, Aftrologico-ca- 

 tholicum, adverfus veteres Philofophos, Atheos, Epicureos, 

 Peripateticos et Stoicos," which was not fufpecled of 

 atheifm, and which indeed contains every thing incom- 

 patible with atheiftical principles. In the following year he 

 piiblifhed at Paris another work, entitled " De admirandis 

 Naturae Reginse Deaque Mortalium Arcanis," which was 

 printed with a privilege ; but on a clofer examination of its 

 tendency, it was publicly burnt by a decree of the Sor- 

 bonne. As the author of this work afcribes to his god- 

 defs. Nature, attributes which belong only to the Supreme 

 Being, he is chargeable with the fame kind of atheifm, that 

 was maintained by fome ancient fedls of philofophers. He 

 was likewife accufed of Hating arguments againft rehgion, 

 to which his rephes were fo unfatisfaftory, as to furnifh 

 ground for fufpicion that he defigned to favour the caufe of 

 infidelity. Being under a necefGty of quitting Paris, he 

 withdrew in 161 7 to Touloufe, where he taught medicine, 

 philofophy, and theology ; but there it was difcovered, that 

 he availed himfelf of his opportunities for general inftruc- 

 tion to diffeminate his impious and atheiftical opinions ; he 

 was tried, and being found guilty, was condemned to have 

 his tongue cut out, and then to be burnt aUve. It is laid, 

 that on his examination, when he was afl<ed if he believed in 

 God, he took up a ftraw, and rephed, " this is fufficient to 

 convince me of the exiftence of a Creator," and that he 

 afterwards made a long difcourfe on Providence. However, 

 after his condemnation, he is faid to have thrown off the 

 malic, and to have uttered horrid impieties. He fuffered 

 death in 1619, (in 1629, according to Mofheim,) at the 

 age of 34, and on his memory has been entailed every 

 kind of reproach which could have been fuggefted by a de- 

 teftation of his doftrines. Bat Moflieim fays, " that feveral 

 learned and refpeftable writers confider this unhappy man 

 rather as a viftim to bigotry and envy, than as a martyr to 

 impiety and atheifm ; and maintain that neither his bfe ncr 



his 



