Edible Products. 



24 



| July, 1910. 



hand good pods, the longer ones for 

 preference of that grade, are picked out 

 and laid round the bundle. When all 

 are straight the tip ends are tied with 

 raffia fibre or soft twine fairly tight. 

 The butt end9 are twisted so that the 

 small curl (which is unavoidable) turns 

 inwards, and that end is similarly tied, 

 and the twist of tape, or what not, 

 that had been put round the first bundle, 

 which is now the core of the com- 

 pleted bundle, is gently withdrawn. An 

 outside tie round the middle of the 

 bundle may be dispensed with if the 

 beans lie fairly close and straight. 

 Damp raffia fibre is mentioned as being 

 used in some countries, and is easy to 

 tie with, but should be avoided as in- 

 cluding mildew. A bundle may consist 

 of about 25 beans— more or less— an effort 

 being made to keep the bundles as nearly 

 as possible of a size, so that a few more 

 will be required if the beans happen to 

 be thin and a few less if thick. Thus 

 the bundles will run from three of the 

 long to six of the short beans to the lb. 



These bundles may be packed into 

 boxes of 5, 10, or even 20 lb. each grade 

 being kept separate. Allied grades, such 

 as sevens to eights, or fives to sixes, may 

 be put into the one box if divisions of 

 some kind, even if only of paper, are 

 used. 



Tin boxes are generally used, but dry, 

 light, and scentless wood would do. In 

 either case it is advisable to line the boxes 

 with oiled paper before packing the 

 Vanilla. Also, to make quite sure of the 

 keeping qualities, it is advisable to keep 

 the boxes for a week or two and repack, 

 removing for retreatment any bundles 

 showing mould before despatch. If pro- 

 perly cured there should be none of this, 

 but a bad bundle or even pod may spoil 

 a considerable amount if left. At this 

 stage the beans should not be rewiped 

 or handled much, as they may begin to 

 "frost." This frosting is caused by the 

 vanillin — the active principle of the 

 Vanilla, which in the course of curing 

 gradually permeates the whole fruit- 

 crystallising on the outside of the beans. 

 Vanilla showing this crystallisation is 

 thought highly of, and obtains a better 

 price than those without frost. Once 

 finally packed the boxes should be 

 hermetically sealed with pasted paper. 



Uses, Values, Etc 



Vanilla is used for perfumery, essence 

 making, and flavouring, more especially 

 for flavouring chocolate, A market is, 

 therefore, to be sought among the whole- 

 sale confectioners and manufacturing 

 grocers, &c. There is a large consump- 



tion in the Commonwealth already, to 

 meet which the Vanilla beans are im- 

 ported. The market is ruled by the 

 Home and Eastern markets. The latest 

 quotations for Ceylon are 8s. to 16s. per 

 lb., according to quality ; the points on 

 which the value is determined being the 

 length, appearance, and, of course, 

 strength of aroma, and flavour. Unifor- 

 mity of grading and neatness of packing 

 —i.e., general " get up," in this, as in 

 most products, has a by no means in- 

 considerable bearing on the favour- 

 ableness of its reception on the market. 



Synthetic — i.e., chemically-made Van- 

 illa substitutes have, as already stated, 

 held the market for some time, but their 

 use with the assistance of the Pure Pood 

 and Drugs Act is gradually giving place 

 to the true and pure article, which is 

 not only above suspicion with respect to 

 wholesomeness, but the fragrance of 

 which is said to '■ act on the system as 

 an aromatic stimulant, exhilarating the 

 mind and increasing the energy of the 

 animal system," 



The synthetic product called " Vanil- 

 lin " is said to be obtained from eugenol, 

 the foundation of the oil of cloves, and 

 also from sugar by electrolytic process. 



Scrub brushed so as to leave 250 tree 

 trunks per acre, and two vines planted 

 to each, producing an average of 25 to 30 

 pods per vine, which, in tuin, on curing 

 average, say, 125 to the lb., would give 

 a return of 100 to 120 lb. of marketable 

 vanilla per acre, which at an average of 

 10s. per lb. represents £50 to £60 per acre. 

 These are figures which have been 

 shown to be readily attainable by the 

 experimental plot at the Kamerunga 

 State Nursery, Cairns, and which might 

 probably be easily exceeded by devoting 

 more detailed attention to the plantation 

 than was possible in the above instance. 



The profit per acre is quoted in the 

 Seychelles as £250, and in Tahiti at £120 

 or so. Tho Kamerunga experiment plot 

 was not large enough to definitely 

 determine the area one man could work, 

 but it has shown that the statement 

 quoted from the Seychelles — viz., that 

 one man can look after 2,500 plants — 

 is equally applicable to Queensland. 

 According to the above distance of 

 planting this would give us 5 acres and 

 a gross return of of £250 to £300 as 

 possible for one grower, Cost of pro- 

 duction at the same rate of calculation 

 would amount to about £100— i.e. , £20 per 

 acre, or some 4s. per lb., against a pre- 

 sent average value of 8s. to 10s. per lb, 

 for the product. 



