Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Dec,  1879.  J 
V arieties. 
613 
Of  the  last  two  by  far  the  greater  portion  was  found  to  sink  in  chloro- 
form. But  even  in  these  cases  the  test  is  not  altogether  without  value, 
for  a  careful  inspection  of  the  sediment  will  show  whether  or  not  it  is 
a.  mixture  of  various  substances,  differing  in  appearance,  weight,  etc*. 
The  mineral  adulterant  will  generally,  in  such  a  case,  form  the  lowest 
stratum  of  the  sediment.  A  comparison  with  a  genuine  sample  helps 
to  arrive  at  a  correct  conclusion.  Moreover,  the  chemical  examination 
of  the  sediment  gives  results  which  cannot  always  be  obtained  by  test- 
ing the  ash.  Take  the  case  of  cinnamon,  for  instance,  which  contains 
organic  calcium  salts.  These,  upon  incineration,  leave  calcium  carbo- 
nate, and  a  qualitative  analysis  of  the  ash  would  therefore  fail  to  show 
whether  this  calcium  carbonate  was  solely  the  result  of  ignition,  or 
whether  a  part  of  it  pre  existed  in  the  cinnamon  powder  as  an  adulter- 
ant;  while  the  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  the  lowest  stratum  of 
the  chloroform  sediment  would  settle  this  point  at  once. 
It  is,  however,  the  case  of  the  drugs  first  named  that  I  wish  specially 
to  recommend  this  mode  of  testing  to  pharmacists. — Pbarm.  'Jour,  and 
Trans.,  Sept.  13,  1879. 
V  A  RI  ETI  E  S. 
The  Vanilla  Plant — Of  all  orchids  the  vanilla  is  the  one  most  widely  known  ; 
its  fruit  is  deservedly  esteemed  and  is  an  important  article  of  commerce.  Its  valu- 
able properties  long  ago  brought  the  vanilla  into  notice.  The  fruit  appears  to  have 
been  first  introduced  into  Europe  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
living  plant  was  imported  into  England,  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
by  Miller  $  but  we  can  not  with  certainty  determine  which  one  of  the  few  species  of 
vanilla  now  known  was  then  introduced.  Linne,  however,  gave  the  name  Epiden- 
drum vanilla  to  the  plant  which  had  come  into  his  hands,  and  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  identical  with  that  broughr  by  Miller.  Several  years  later  Swartz,  on 
attentively  studying  the  flower  of  the  vanilla,  observed  notable  differences  between 
it  and  the  flower  of  the  genus  Epidendrum  j  he  was  thus  Kd  to  constitute:  a  new 
genus,  and  Epidendrum  vanilla  now  becomes  Vanilla  aromatica.  Later  Greville 
brought  from  America  some  cuttings  of  a  vanilla  differing  from  Vanilla  aromatica, 
especially  in  the  size  of  the  leaves  \  to  this  Andrews  gave  the  name  Vanilla  plant- 
folia.  This  plant  was  brought  first  to  England,  thence  to  the  Museum  at  Paris  in 
1 8 10,  and  lastly  to  Belgium  ;  it  is  the  species  whose  fruit  possesses  the  strongest 
perfume. 
The  vanilla  throve  in  greenhouses,  but  as  it  was  sensitive  to  cold,  and  did  not 
fructify,  and  its  flowers  possessed  no  ornamental  interest,  its  culture  was  very  limited. 
.For  a  long  time  the  only  fruits  which  came  to  Europe  were  from  Mexico,  or  the 
