6 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i, 
THE  TRADE  IN  VANILLA. 
Ill  the  luimber  of  the  Jonnud  for  ilarch  27th, 
see  ante  p.  453,  sonie  fads  were  given  on  the  coii- 
ditiou  of  the  quiaine  market  and  ou  iucideiital 
reference  made  to  vanilla.  In  this  connection  it  will 
probably  be  in  the  memory  of  many  readers  that 
the  history  and  botany  of  the  plants  furnishing  this 
useful  product  have  recently  been  fully  dealt  witli  in 
the  Ken;  Hidlelin,  and  to  the  matter  to  be  found 
therein  the  following  extracts  from  the  same  number 
of  the  Cheniiet  ajul  Jh-iuj/jist,  which  contains  the  fore- 
going remarks  on  quinine,  will  be  supplemental,  and 
of  value  as  completing  the  commercial  side  of  the 
question.  In  consequence  of  the  high  price  that 
vanilla  always  commands  in  the  market,  the  cry's- 
talline  principle  has  been  imitated  by  a substance 
generally  known  as  vanillin. 
“ When  this  substance  was  first  introduced  as  a 
commercial  article,  now  a good  many  years  ago, 
the  planters  and  others  interested  in  the  vanilla 
trade  were  much  sacred  at  the  new  competition, 
but  events  have  shown  that  their  fears  were  unfoiuided, 
for  although  the  use  of  vanillin  may  have  prevented 
the  consumxrtion  of  vanilla  from  assuming  such  large 
proportions  as  it  would  otherwise  have  done,  it  has 
not  in  the  least  proved  an  obstacle  to  the  profita- 
ble culture  of  the  vanilla  plant,  and  it  is  notorious 
that  the  employ  .nent  of  vanilla  has  greatly  increased 
of  late  years.  It  is  also  noteworthy  that  vanillin 
is  now  lower  in  price  than  it  has  ever  been,  while 
tine  vanilla  realises  higher  figures  than  it  has  done 
for  years.  It  seems,  in  fact,  that  in  many  instances 
the  commercial  preparation  of  a synthetic  product, 
after  creating  a temporary  depres.-ion  in  the  market 
of  the  natural  drug  which  it  is  intended  to  replace, 
finds  a place  side  by  side  with  the  sale  of  that 
product,  and  remain  thereafter  comparatively  power- 
less to  atfcct  the  commercial  position  of  the  natural 
article.  Cumarin  and  artificial  musk  sre  cases  in 
point,  in  addition  to  vaniliin. 
“The  future  course  of  the  vanilla  market  will  be 
largely  inllueuced  by  the  receipts  of  Ucunioii  (Bour- 
bon) and  Seychelles  vanilla  in  the  course  of  the 
next  three  months.  When  the  tu'st  arrivals  of  the 
new  vanilla  crop  came  to  hand  in  October,  the  stocks 
had  fallen  to  a very  low  point  everywhere;  since 
then  there  has  been  but  little  chance  of  accumula- 
tion, owing  to  the  strong  demand,  but  at  present  the 
bulk  of  the  crop  is  coming  in,  and  it  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  buyers  will  be  able  to  absorb  it 
with  a rapidity  approaching  that  with  which  it  arrives. 
The  principal  stock  of  vanilla  in  Europe  is  usuo.lly 
kept  in  France,  especially  at  Baris  and  Bordeaux, 
where  the  bulk  of  the  Bourbon  crop  is  received  in 
consignment,  and  whence  considerable  quantities  are 
habitually  sent  to  lioudon  for  sale.  In  September, 
just  before  the  arrival  of  the  new  crop,  a stock  of 
from  15,000  to  20,000  kilos,  in  Bordeaux,  and  as  big 
a one  in  Baris  and  Marseilles  combined,  used  to  be 
a fair  average,  but  during  the  year  the  supplies  in 
France  did  not  by  any  means  reach  the  lowest  of 
^hese  figures,  while  the  London  stock  was  below 
rather  than  above  its  usual  scanty  figure  of  about 
2,000  lb.  The  crops  of  vanilla  in  Kounion,  Mauritius, 
and  the  Seychelles  have  been  unusually  small,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  crop  w'hich  is  now  beginning  to 
arrive  will  again  be  a very  poor  one,  while  reports 
of  total  faihu-e  have  come  from  Mexico  for  many 
weeks.  As  the  United  States  require  from  130,000 
to  150,000  lb.  of  vanilla  every  year,  they  have  been 
obliged  for  some  time  to  purchase  vanilla  in  Europe, 
and  their  orders  have  helped  not  a little  to  increase 
the  competition  and  advance  the  market  price  of  the 
drug.  The  American  requirements  are  probably 
larger  than  those  of  the  rest  of  the  world  together, 
and  we  do  not  estimate  the  total  consumption  of 
vanilla  at  much  over  250,000  lb.  a year,  setting  aside 
the  Mexican  production,  and  that  from  the  smaller 
sources  of  supply.  We  canuot  count  upon  an  average 
output  of  about  100,000  lb.  a year  in  licunion,  and 
of  a^bout  00,0u0  lb.  a year  in  Mauritius  and  Seychelles. 
With  an  average  crop,  therefore,  the  present  pro- 
duction of  vanilla  is  ample,  and  if  the  exceptionally 
high  prices  of  this  yoar  should  lead  to  an  extension 
pf  cultivation,  we  may  be  confronted  with  a large 
1896. 
over-production  within  a very  few  years.  For,  al- 
though vanilla  is  very  sensitive  of  climatic  influences, 
the  plant  is  easy  of  propagation,  and  yields  a rapid 
return,  as  the  vines  begin  to  boar  in  fheir  fifth  year, 
and  may  continue  to  yield  fruit  until  their  fortieth. 
“ B'oitunately  for  those  who  sell  the  article,  it 
seems  that  comparatively  few  planters  can  grow  it 
successfully.  In  Java,  whei-e  vanilla  was  introduced 
ill  18111,  the  culture  was  at  one  time  of  great  import- 
ance, but  at  present  the  island  scarcely  counts  as  a 
producer.  In  Mauritius  also,  vanilla-growing  seems 
to  be  dying  out.  The  exports  from  that  island  fell 
from  37,1)00  lb.  in  1892  to  15,400  lb.  in  1893,  and 
9,100  lb.  in  1894.  Reunion  exported  her  first  vanilla 
to  Europe  in  1849.  That  shipment  was  only  7 lb. 
but  iu  1870  the  exports  had  grovvn  to  over  20,000  lb. 
Since  then  the  largest  Reunion  crops  have  been 
190,000  lb,  in  1891,  207,0001b.  in  1892,  and  175,000  1b. 
in  1893,  but  last  year  there  was  a great  decrease. 
The  production  of  Seychelles  has  been  exceedingly 
erratic  lately.  These  islands  first  sent  their  produce 
to  Europe  in  1885.  In  the  succeeding  years  they 
quickly  rose  to  an  output  of  about  80,000  lb.,  but 
equally  thickly  dropped  off  again  to  about  17,500  lb. 
a year.  According  to  the  latest  reports,  bowever, 
the  output  next  year  is  likely  to  show  a great  in- 
crease. The  SeychcBe.s  and  Mauritius  vanilla  is 
generally  shorter,  paler,  and  fainter  iu  odour  than 
that  from  Reunion,  and  realises  lower  prices.” — 
Jonnial  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 
-----  yv-  • - 
LIBERIAN  COFFPE. 
In  the  Selanyor  Journal  of  Gth  March  there  ap- 
pears, reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  the  .American  Vo- 
hiiii\al!oH  Society,  a very  interesting  article  by  a Mr. 
•lohnsoii  on  Ijibcrian  Coffee.  The  information  it 
gives  is  extremely  valuable  and  will  be  found  well 
worth  studying  by  all  interested  iu  this  product  ; 
but  it  is  not  so  much  what  Mr.  .Johnson  says  that 
I wish  to  comment  upon  here,  as  tlie  notes  ou  the 
papor  written  by  a Selangor  planter. 
To  jndgo  from  these  notes  it  would  seem  that 
coffee  planters  in  Selangor  have  arrived — not  without 
good  reason  no  doubt— at  conclusions  directly  op- 
posite to  those  wc  have  reached  iu  North  Borneo, 
we  are  quite  with  the  writer  when  ho  states 
“ notliing  suits  coffee  over  here  better  than  a strong 
moisturo-retainiiig  soil,”  but  when  he  goes  on  “ For 
“this  reason  amongst  others  fiat  land  is  most  sought 
after  aud  I imagine  few  planters  would  care  to 
“p  ant  up  hills  from  choice,”  he  makes  it  clear  that 
the  conditions  in  Selangor  must  be  quite  different 
from  those  in  North  Borneo,  where  we  never  plant 
ou  the  fiat  and  always  ask  for  undulating  land,  not 
so  hilly  that  mucli  wash  of  soil  is  entailed  but 
sufficiently  so  to  let  the  rain  run  off  with  little  or 
no  cost  for  drainage.  This  is  the  lay  of  laud  we 
like  best,  but  it  cannot  ot  course  always  be  got  in 
perfection. 
The  next  statement  of  the  writer’s  i.s,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  i-ather  appalling.  “ There  are  few  estates 
“ here  on  which  cannot  be  found  sturdy  well-grown 
“ trees  florishing  aud  cropping  freely  in  places  where 
“water  may  be  found  afoot  or  18  inches  down.” 
And  this  on  the  flat  loo  ? All  I can  say  is  that 
in  North  Borneo  ninety  per  cent  ot  the  trees  would 
go  out  from  root  rot  in  a couple  of  years  under 
similar  conditions.  Are  our  Selangor  friends  quite 
sure  they  are  right  ? 
A good  deal  of  discussion  has  been  proceeding  in 
the  Singapore  papers  as  to  some  of  the  coffee  lauds 
in  the  Straits,  not  necessarily  of  course  any  of 
those  referred  to  in  the  Selanyor  Journal’s  notes  ; 
during  this  discussion  reference  is  made  to  the 
heavy  percentago  of  “slruck”  plants  (what  is  a 
“struck  ’ plant?)  while  as  lo  soil  weave  cheerliilly 
given  0 e choice  of  all  peat,  half  peat,  land  with 
water  18  inches  below,  liluo  clay,  or  sand.  For 
myself  I should  decline  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  experiments  as  to  whetlier  coffee  died  boones 
0 1 “blue  clay”  or  “ poat.” 
0.1  the  (luestioii  of  topping,  the  Selanyor  Journ 
writer  has  a fairly  open  mind,  1 give  his  remarks 
in  full.  ° 
