Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
Dec,  1S93. 
Vanilla. 
58i 
live  in  greater  ease  than  do  these  people  of  Papantla,  and  this  is  not 
alone  due  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  good  quality  of  the  prod- 
ucts which  are  obtained  by  cultivation,  but  also  because  in  their 
forests  important  products  grow  wild  which  are  the  property  of  any 
one  willing  to  gather  them.  The  motives  actuating  these  people  in 
selling  the  Vanilla  before  it  is  ripe,  are  caused  by  avarice  on  the  one 
hand  and  rascality  on  the  other.  The  first  Vanilla  sold  has,  as  a 
rule,  been  stolen,  and  as  it  is  cheap,  though  of  poor  quality,  it  is 
always  a  bargain  for  the  buyer.  The  planters  who  have  Vanilla 
Beans  somewhat  distant  from  their  homes  as  soon  as  they  know  of 
any  purchase  or  sale,  cut  their  own  Beans,  fearful  lest  the  same  be 
stolen,  as  they  know  by  experience  that,  immediately  upon  the  start 
of  such  traffic,  complaints  are  heard  from  the  unfortunates,  who  in 
a  short  time  are  deprived  of  the  results  of  hard  labor  and  care. 
This  abnormal  condition  of  affairs  goes  on,  and  thefts  repeatedly 
occur  even  in  the  best  guarded  Vanilla  forests,  whose  owners  cannot 
constantly  oversee  by  day  and  by  night,  as  other  duties  require 
their  attention.  For  this  reason  they  decide  to  cut  and  sell  the 
Vanilla  Bean  at  very  low  figures,  rather  than  to  suffer  total  loss. 
For  no  other  reason  is  the  fruit  gathered  and  sold  before  it  is 
thoroughly  ripe.  This  unseasonable  traffic,  both  immoral  and  highly 
prejudicial  to  the  property  interests  of  these  cantons,  should  be 
checked  by  proper  legislation  ;  in  this  way  the  crop  and  the  quality 
of  the  goods  would  be  much  greater,  and  its  superior  and  delicate 
flavor  that  justly  belongs  to  the  best  Mexican  Vanilla  Bean  would 
make  it  esteemed  above  any  other  aroma  in  the  world. 
In  curing  Vanilla  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  impair  it  either 
by  an  excess  or  lack  of  dryness,  perfect  curing  is  only  attained 
when  the  Bean  is  left  in  such  a  condition  that  it  remains  juicy  and 
retains  its  greatest  possible  weight,  a  consummation  which  the 
expert  should  constantly  aim  at.  If  the  Vanilla  is  cut  when  ripe 
success  will  be  easy,  but  when  cut  prematurely  as  has  been 
the  case  during  many  years,  art  has  to  replace  nature  as  far  as 
possible,  which  cai  be  done  only  through  labor  and  substan- 
tial knowledge  of  the  subject,  so  that  some  idea  may  be  formed 
of  the  delicate  care  needed  for  this  operation.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
even  the  best  known  experts  sometimes  permit  the  Vanilla  to  dry 
too  much,  or  else,  the  greater  part  of  it,  not  to  say  all,  becomes 
filled  with  insects,  either  before  or  after  the  process  of  curing.  It 
