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In cultivation the flowers are pollinated by hand. The 
fruits, resembling slender green bananas, are gathered 
before quite ripe and are exposed to a steam-sweating by 
various devices. They are then exposed to the sun each 
day, and wrapped in woolen blankets at night, for some 
time. By this process the odorous substance vanillin is 
developed. The vanillin may all be in the body of the 
vanilla (‘‘brown beans’’), or it may coat its surface in the 
form of shining white crystals (‘‘frosted beans’’). Before 
this curing process, vanilla contains no vanillin and has no 
special fragrance or flavor. Unless otherwise specified, the 
specimens in this exhibit were presented by Dodge & Olcott, 
of New York City. 
1412. Leafy branch of Vanilla planifolia Andrews. From Mexico. Presented by 
Dodge & Olcott, of New York City. 
1413. A fresh unripe fruit of the same plant. Same source and donor. 
141422, Picture of a vanilla plantation. 
1415. That of a flowering vanilla plant. 
1416. Pollinating the flowers, or fecundation. 
1417. The vanilla beans on the vine. 
1418. Gathering the beans. 
1419. Drying and curing. 
1420. Assorting and bundling. 
1421. Fine Mexican vanilla. 
1422. Fancy braided specimen of the same. 
1423. Vanilla splits—Beans which became so nearly ripe before collection that 
they had begun to split open at the tip. 
1424. Cut Mexican vanilla.—Consists of inferior beans, of poor appearance, and 
the good portions of beans from which the useless portions have been cut 
away. 
1425. Tehuantepec vanilla—Vanilla grown upon the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
Central America. 
1426. Bourbon vanilla, bundled in Mexican style-——This form of bundling is 
resorted to in order that this article can be sold as Mexican vanilla. 
1427. Commercial Bourbon vanilla. 
1428. Seychelles vanilla, bundled in Mexican style-——Vanilla produced at the 
Seychelles Islands and bundled to imitate the Mexican vanilla. 
1429. Commercial Seychelles vanilla. 
1430. Mauritius vanilla—Vanilla produced on the Island of Mauritius, West 
Indies. 
1431. Java vanilla. 
22 Numbers 1414-1420 comprise a series of pictures representing the vanilla- 
producing industry, and were presented by J. Mannheimer, of New York City. 
