100 



Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



ducts of a complex nature. This indicates that the errors caused by the sublimation 

 of the vanillin according to Hiltner's method, are considerable in the case of vanilla 

 extracts containing more than 0.2 per cent, of vanillin. 



Winton and his co-workers devised a lead number, now the official A. 0. A. C. 

 method, for analyzing vanilla extracts. In Wichmann's 1 ) opinion it is not free from 

 objection and he therefore publishes a new method of determining the lead number, 

 supposed to simpler and more reliable. 



To 175 cc. of boiled water in a liter flask Wichmann adds 25 cc. of 8 per cent, 

 lead acetate solution and 50 cc. of vanilla extract, removes the alcohol by distillation, 

 adds dilute sulphuric acid to the diluted and filtered residue and calculates the number 

 of grams of metallic lead in the lead sulphate precipitated. This figure doubled is 

 the required lead number. 



Doherty 2 ) says that the gravimetric determination of vanillin in vanilla essences 

 can be avoided by a method based upon the reaction of the aldehyde with sodium 

 bisulphite and the colour reaction with bromine water and ferrous sulphate. The author 

 states that it is reliable and easily carried ont with the aid of Duboscq's colorimeter. 

 A detailed description is given in the Chemiker-Zeitung 45 (1921); 687. 



Thiercelin and Violet 3 ) give the following information regarding the solubility of 

 vanillin: Vaselin dissolves 11, glycerin 7 and oil 11 per cent, of vanillin at the ordi- 

 nary temperature. 



Solubility of Vanillin per litre. 



Water 



Alcohol 



nperature 





15 per cent. 



30 per cent. 



60 per cent. 



90 per cent. 



10° . . 



. . 5,2 grams 



50 grams 



80 grams 



755 grams 



1 100 grams 



20° . . 



• • 15,5 „ 



66,6 „ 



180 „ 



1 500 „ 



1 750 „ 



50° . . 



. • 44,4 „ 



166,6 „ 



750 „ 



3000 ,; 



5000 „ 



78° . . 



. . 66,6 „ 



400 „ 



950 „ 



4000 „ 



10000 „ 



We found the following proportions 4 ): — 



Solubility of Vanillin in 100 parts by weight of the solvent at 10°. 



Alcohol 96 per cent. Alcohol 70 per cent. Glycerin Olive Oil Liquid Paraffin 



38 grams 30 grams 1 gram 0.9 gram less than 0.1 gram 



The vanilla crop in Madagascar, Comores and Reunion, amounting to 500 tons on 

 an average, is estimated at only 350 tons for 1921. It is supposed that the United 

 States consume 35, France 25, England 10, Switzerland 8, Scandinavia 8 and Germany, 

 Holland and Spain together 14 per cent, of the crop 5 ). 



The following data are taken from an article on vanilla production in Mexico by 

 Ch. H. Cunningham 6 ): — At present Mexico employs over 50000 people in the cultivation 

 and extraction of vanilla. Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia, Andr.) is indigenous to the soil 

 of Mexico 7 ). It is principally cultivated in the districts of Papantla and Misantla in the 

 State of Vera Cruz, the most productive region lying south-east of Tuxpan, between 



l ) Americ. Perfumer 16 (1921), 301. — 2 ) Journ. and Proceed. Royal Soc. of New South Wales 57, p. 157. 



— 3 ) Parfum. moderne 14 (1921), 153. — *) Report April 1909, 144. — B ) Drug and Chemical Markets 9 

 (1921), 405. — 6 ) Commerce Reports, of November 20 th , 1920. As per Americ. Journ. Pharm. 93 (1921), 272. 



— ') Preuss considers the wild Mexican vanilla to differ from Vanilla planifolia. Berichte d. Pharm. Ges. 

 11 (1901), 24. 



