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adulteration with benzoic acid and the coating with oil or balsam of 
Peru should be taken into consideration. The addition of vanillin to 
vanilla beans is not uncommon and should be considered as an adul- 
teration. Commercially acceptable vanilla should consist of the un- 
ripe, closed brownish-black fruit of Vanilla planifolia Andrews. It 
should have an agreeable odor and taste and should not be wholly or 
partially extracted. Cracked, thin, yellowish brown, or stiff fruit 
having the characteristic heliotrope odor should not be accepted. 
The amount of ash should not exceed 5 per cent. — Ztschr. f. Unters. 
d. Nahr. u. Genussm., 1905, v. 10, p. 32. 
Hanus, J., reviews the efforts to develop a satisfactory method for 
the quantitative estimation of vanillin in vanilla and preparations of 
vanilla, and outlines a process depending on the use of nitrobenz- 
hydrazine as a precipitant.— Ztschr. f. Unters. d. Nahr. u. Genussm., 
1905, v. 10, p. 585. 
An abstract (from Revue internat. des falsificat., 1905) outlines 
the methods that have been adopted for the curing of vanilla in the 
Seychelles and on the Island of Reunion. Also records some analyt- 
ical data as to different varieties of vanilla. — Pharm. Zentralh., 1905, 
v. 46, p. 688. 
The Bureau of Plant Industry reports experiments on the growing 
and maturing of vanilla beans. A sufficient crop was matured to 
carry the product through the fermentation process and produce the 
article in a commercial condition. — Ann. Rep. Dept. Agric., 1905, 
p. 97. 
Inkersley, A. (from World To-Day, v. 9, pp. 1012-1013), gives an 
account of planting about 8,000 cuttings of vanilla in the region of 
Kona, Hawaii, where it is believed the climate is especially suitable 
for this crop. — Exp. Sta. Rec., v. 17, p. 563. 
Jackson, J. R. (in Gardner’s Chronicle), notes some curious facts 
regarding vanilla cultivation in Tahiti and Mauritius. — Bull. Dept. 
Agric., Jamaica, 1905, v. 3, pp. 70-71 (April). 
Just’s Botanischer Jahresber. (1905, v. 33, part 3, pp. 752-753) con- 
tains several additional references relating to the cultivation and 
curing of vanilla. 
Caldwell, Paul, believes that the odor of the finished tincture of 
vanilla is seriously affected by having cpme. in contact with iron dur- 
ing any stage of its making. He deprecates the grinding of the bean 
in an iron mortar, with sand or glass, and particularly cautions 
against the use of a rusty iron percolator. — Drug. Circ. & Chem. Gaz., 
1905, v. 49, p. 220. 
Winton and Bailey discuss the adulteration of vanillin with acet- 
anilide, and outline a method for determining vanillin, coumarin, and 
acetanilide in vanillin, vanilla, and vanilla extract. — J. Am. Chem. 
Soc., 1905, v. 27, pp. 719-724. 
