500 



VANILLA. 



6 to 12 lines broad ; those of Minaes are 6 to 9 inches long by 4 to 6 

 lines broad. The ordinary pods found in British commerce are from 

 3 to 8 inches long by a third to half an inch wide. The large Pompona 

 pods are known as vanillons in France. The name vanilla is a 

 diminutive of the Spanish vaina, a pod. 



The imports of vanilla into the United Kingdom in the years when 

 a record was kept by the Board of Trade, were as follows : 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



1867 

 1868 



lbs. 

 8,178 

 6,846 



£ 



2,864 

 2,164 



1869 

 1870 



lbs. 



4,805 

 10,785 



£ 



3,748 

 9,706 



The chief use of vanilla is in jflavouring perfiunery, and confec- 

 tionary, ices, creams, and especially chocolate. One pod is sufficient to 

 flavour a pound and a half of chocolate, being ground with sugar for 

 that purpose. The fragrance is said to act upon the system as an 

 aromatic stimulant, exhilarating the mind, and increasing the energy 

 of the animal system. It is occasionally employed on the Continent in 

 cases of hysteria, and is used by the Spanish physicians in America as 

 an antidote to poison and to the bite of venomous animals, as well as in 

 other cases. A liquid used in Peru, where it is known as Baume de 

 vanille, exudes from the open pods at perfect maturity. The fruits in 

 time become covered with an efflorescence of fine needle-like crystals, 

 which possess properties similar to those of benzoic acid ; when viewed 

 through a microscope vdth polarized light they are very beautiful 

 objects. 



In the ' Medical Flora,' it is stated that vanilla exercises a powerful 

 action on the animal economy, and justifies the attributes of tonic, 

 stimulant, and comforting, which are accorded to it. The truly active 

 and strong impression which it makes on the nervous system by its 

 fragrant aroma, and on the stomach when taken internally, is rapidly 

 and sympathetically transmitted to all the organs, the functions of 

 which it more or less accelerates. Hence, when the system is lowered, 

 vanilla facilitates digestion and nutrition, augments the cutaneous 

 transpiration or the secretion of urine, and acts as a tonic in various 

 other ways. It is recommended in cases of dyspepsia, melancholy, 

 hypochondria, and chlorosis, where the digestive functions are sluggish 

 or torpid. 



It is much employed by the Spaniards in South America to cure 

 various maladies, being reckoned stimulant and stomachic. 



Besides the large consumption of vanilla as a flavouring essence, it 

 is also used to a small extent in scenting tobacco, snuff, and cigars, 

 and as a perfume ; and more recently a new demand for vanilla has 

 arisen, especially in Germany, the pod having been found to yield a 

 fine brown colour. 



The quantitative determination of vanillin in vanilla shows that the 

 per centage of this aromatic principle varies between 1 • 5 and 2 • 5 per 

 cent. Mexican vanilla of prime quality was found to contain 1-69 



