Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. ) 
July,  1881.  f 
Commercial  Vanilla. 
345 
congealing  point  had  heretofore  proved  an  insuperable  objection  to 
its  use. 
The  official  statements  show  that  nio.st  of  the  cotton-seed  oil 
imported  at  Marseilles  is  re-exported  under  its  proper  name,  either 
by  land  or  by  sea,  which  would  indicate  that  tlie  practice  of  mix- 
ing cotton-seed  oil  with  olive  oil  is  not  in  great  favor  at  Marseilles, 
but  the  Marseilles  olive  oil,  being  first  im])orted  from  Italy  or  the 
interior  of  F ranee,  may  have  been  tampered  with  at  the  places  of 
production.  A  large  proportion  of  the  cotton-seed  oil  is  used  by  a 
portion  of  the  population  in  its  pure  state  and  with  the  full  knowl- 
edge of  the  consumer,  who  may,  especially  in  the  districts  where  the 
olive  tree  is  not  grown,  prefer  to  make  use  of  what  he  knows  to  be 
pure  cotton-seed  oil,  and  whicli  he  may  obtain  at  lower  rates  than 
inferior  olive  oil,  upon  the  genuineness  of  whicli  he  cannot  rely. 
The  importation  of  cotton-seed  oil  at  Marseilles  has  increased  from 
34,508  barrels,  or  6,700,735  kilos  in  1879,  to  53,462  bareels,  or 
9,841,073  kilos  in  1880.  Less  than  half  of  tliis  amount  was 
imported  from  England,  but  a  large  proportion  of  this  was  probably 
shipped  from  the  United  States  and  transshipped  at  some  English  port. 
COMMERCIAL  VANILLA. 
Origin. — J.  Ch.  Sawer  reviews  the  opinions  expressed  by  different 
Botanists  as  to  tlie  origin  of  commercial  vanilla,  which  seems  to  be 
derived  from  several  varieties  of  perhaps  several  species,  and  inclines 
to  Morren's  views  ('^  Bull.  Acad.  Roy.  Belg.,"  1  ser.,  xvii,  p.  130), 
that  the  question  can  only  be  solved  by  an  experienced  naturalist  who 
should  examine  the  plants  in  the  localities  where  they  actually  grow, 
compare  the  different  lengtli,  thickness,  shape,  color,  flavor  and  value 
of  the  fruit  yielded  by  each  species  and  variety,  and  accompany  the 
diagnoses  made  by  drawings  on  the  spot.  The  flnest  commercial 
vanilla  is  found  by  Morren  to  closely  resemble  the  fruit  of  Vanilla 
planifolia,  Andrews. 
Cultivation. — From  Jaillet's  report  to  the  Societe  d'Emulation 
(^^Rep.  Phar.,'^  1880,  p.  357)  we  quote  the  following  condensed 
account  of  the  cultivation  and  preparation  of  vanilla. 
In  Mexico  vanilla  plantations  are  esta1)lished  in  forests  by  cutting 
down  all  shrubs,  climbers  and  large  trees  as  would  give  an  excess  of 
shade,  leaving  only  young  trees,  preferably  those  containing  a  milky 
