37^ 
Varieties. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      July,  1877. 
States  comes  from  Mexico  ;  it  is  generally  prefered  to  the  Bourbon  vanilla,  which  is 
usually  covered  with  a  crystalline  efflorescence  of  vanillin,  but  has  an  odor  remind- 
ing somewhat  of  Tonka.  Vanilla  is  also  produced  at  the  Seychelles,  to  what  extent 
we  have  not  learned.  The  fruit  resembles  that  of  Mexico,  but  is  considerably 
thinner.  The  vanilla  of  Costa  Rica  likewise  resembles  the  Mexican,  but  is  less 
attenuated  at  the  ends,  and  like  the  Venezuelan  vanilla,  which  is  not  over  4  inches 
long,  has  a  decided  flavor  of  tonka.  Whether  Vanilla  pompona  is  also  cultivated 
in  Venezuela  we  cannot  say,  but  a  vanilla  resembling  the  fruit  of  that  species  was 
lately  offered  as  Laguayra  vanilla.  As  grown  in  its  native  country,  Brazil,  it  is  nearly 
an  inch  broad,  fleshy  and  of  an  inferior  odor  as  compared  with  the  best  commercial 
varieties.  The  vanilla  of  Peru  is  probably  from  the  same  species,  but  when  dry  is 
of  the  thickness  of  a  finger,  and  6  or  7  inches  long.  The  culture  of  vanilla  in 
Jamaica  has  as  yet  not  been  attempted  on  a  sufficiently  extensive  scale.  To  what 
'extent  the  use  of  vanilla  may  be  interfered  with  by  the  artificial  production  of  vanil- 
lin from  coniferin  remains  to  be  seen.  That  which  was  exhibited  last  year  by  Dr. 
Haarmann  had  a  very  fine  flavor,  which,  in  our  estimation,  resembled  Bourbon 
vanilla  rather  than  the  Mexican. 
VARIETIES. 
The  Mineral  Waters  of  Greece — There  are  few  countries  in  Europe  as  rich 
in  mineral  waters  as  Greece.  Very  excellent  thermal  springs  are  found  at 
Aidipso,  in  the  island  of  Eubcea,  and  at  Thermopyles,  both  of  which  were  known 
in  ancient  times  as  Heraclian's  warm  waters.  Warm  springs  are  also  found  in  the 
islands  of  Thermia  and  Kythnos,  and  springs  of  different  compositions  are  met 
with  in  Mylos  and  Santorin.  The  Peloponnesus  and  Akarnania  are  likewise  not 
deficient  in  these  treasures.  The  hot  saline  springs  of  Lutraki,  near  Corinth, 
known  from  the  remotest  period,  and  the  theiothermae,  or  sulphur  springs,  being 
located  in  the  former,  while  the  latter  has  the  far  grander  sulphur  springs  of  Hypate. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  at  nearly  all  these  places  there  are  no  establishments 
offering  the  desirable  comfort  to  induce  foreigners  to  visit  the  excellent  springs  of 
this  classical  country;  not  only  the  warm,  but  also  the  cold,  which  are  found  in 
various  sections,  and  among  which  may  be  enumerated  the  many  possessing  aperient 
and  purgative  properties,  and  the  lithontriptic  waters  of  a  monastery,  near  Hydra. 
The  latter  arc  alkaline,  and  have  proved  effectual  in  many  cases  of  gravel  and  stone. 
Marble — One  of  the  most  important  minerals  of  Greece,  in  ancient  and  modern 
times,  is  the  white  marble  of  the  Pelikon  Mountains,  not  far  from  Athens.  Nearly 
all  the  ancient  temples,  the  admirable  Parthenon,  the  Propylsea  and  hundreds  of 
statues  were  made  of  this  marble,  which  has  also  furnished  the  material  for  the  new 
Academy,  the  University  and  many  palaces  of  modern  Athens,  as  well  as  for 
numerous  ornaments. 
An  excellent  white  marble,  though  difficult  to  transport,  is  also  obtained  from  the 
island  of  Paxos.    It  was  employed  by  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  for  their  famous 
