120 



surface to prevent it rotting back. Dry lime is perhaps better ; this 

 may be dabbed on with a piece of cloth dipped in the powder. 



Pods grow to their full size in five or six weeks, but take some eight 

 months, more or less, according to the altitude at which they are 

 grown, or the amount of shade over them, before they ripen. The 

 indication of ripening is a slight yellowing of the whole pod, which is 

 more marked near its free end. When under too much shade the 

 «hange in color is less noticeable, and many pods grown in such places 

 split before they are gathered, and for that reason lose in value. To 

 guard against splitting, and yet gather them at perfect ripeness, they 

 should be be gone over every other day. In removing them from the 

 lower stalks the pods are grasped one by one near their attache d ends, 

 Tery slightly twisted, and at the same time pressed aside with the 

 Shumb. They must be taken off quite clean. If a bit of the flower 

 stalk comes away with a pod, as sometimes will happen, it should be 

 cut off smoothly. Any break or crack in the pod itself, however, near 

 its butt, ranks it as an inferior quality. Buyers are very particular in 

 this respect. After each day's gathering, before the pods are staited 

 <tm their first stage of curing, it is well to sort them roughly into four 

 Masses : 1, long; 2, medium ; 3, short, and 4, split. 



CURIKG THE PODS FOR MARKET. 



There are many different modes of preparing vanilla, but for brevity's 

 sake one alone will be described ; it is probably the simplest, and 

 appears to be as successful as any other. About 400 of the longest 

 pods are placed in a basket and plunged into hot water (190° F.) for 

 ten seconds ; this is repeated twice, the dips being increased to twelve 

 and fifteen seconds respectively, with intervals of half a minute 

 between each two. After the third dip, when most of the water has 

 drained off, the pods are placed in a wooden box or barrel lined with 

 •blankets, and closely covered up with the same material. When lot 1 

 is finished, lot 2 is similarly treated, and for them the water may be a 

 iew degrees cooler, or the dipping times a trifle shortened ; and so also 

 •with lot No. 3, w r hile No. 4 may be treated as No. 2. Perhaps it is as 

 well to add that 190° F. is not an absolutely essential heat, but is about 

 as high as it is safe to go ; while even the longest pods may be 

 adequately treated in water at 170° F. if they are kept in it long 

 enough. An experienced preparer will be guided more by the appear- 

 ance of the pod after each dip than by any fixed formula. Where 

 small qantities are dealt wiih less heat is needed, and the above 

 ■figures are given for a boiler 22 inches in diameter by 12 inches deep. 

 It is best to have good-sized boxes or barrels to sweat the pods in, 

 those holding 2,000 or 3,000 each being preferable, for the more pods 

 there are together the better heat is retained The lots (1, 2, 3. and 4) 

 should be kept apart, a fold of blanket being laid on each if all go into 

 one box. By the following morning they should have changed to 

 chocolate or puce colour, and are then ready to spread on the drying 

 shelves ; but if there is a large number together, and - the heat has been 

 well kept in, they may be left for another twenty-four hours. 



A curing house for preparing a crop up to 2,000 pounds (dry) may 

 liave the following dimensions and fixings: 30 feet long, 15 feet broad, 

 13 feet in height of w r alls. It should be divided into four compart- 

 ments, two on the ground and two above, each being approximately 15 



