AmFe°bU'i8P92arm-}       Commercial  Extract  of  Vanilla.  71 
Dilute  acid  removed  2-21  per  cent,  consisting  of  pararabin  and 
the  phosphates  of  calcium  and  magnesium.  The  residue  yielded 
4*55  Per  cent,  of  starch,  leaving  a  residue  of  lignin  and  cellulin  of 
8-40  per  cent. 
The  husks  of  the  seeds  were  found  to  have  a  bitter  taste,  and  a 
quantity  exhausted  with  alcohol,  the  solvent  recovered,  the  residue 
dissolved  in  acidulated  water  and  agitated  with  ether,  yielded  on 
evaporation  of  the  last  solvent  some  of  the  same  bitter  principle 
obtained  from  the  seeds. 
ON  COMMERCIAL  EXTRACT  OF  VANILLA. 
By  F.  W.  Haussmann,  Ph.G. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  Jan.  19. 
The  subject  of  vanillin  and  commercial  vanilla  extracts,  being 
dwelled  upon  at  several  previous  meetings,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  of 
interest  to  consider  the  same  from  a  commercial  standpoint.  Very 
few  articles,  in  as  active  demand  as  this  extract,  show  such  a  variety 
of  composition,  as  almost  every  druggist  has  a  different  formula.  It 
may  be  questioned  if  many  pharmacists  sell  the  preparation  of  the 
pharmacopoeia  for  flavoring  purposes. 
At  the  present  day  a  good  quality  of  vanilla  bean  cannot  be 
bought  under  $7  or  $8  per  pound,  and,  calculating  on  this  basis, 
the  price  of  one  pint  of  Tinctura  Vanillae,  U.  S.  P.,  comes  to  little 
less  than  $1.  To  sell  over  the  counter  and  obtain  a  reasonable 
profit  would  compel  the  pharmacist  to  demand  for  this  extract  at 
least  iocents  per  ounce,  which,  with  the  prominence  of  the''  grocery, 
store"  vanilla,  is  almost  impossible.  The  consumer,  as  a  general 
rule,  is  but  a  poor  judge  of  flavoring  extracts,  quantity  and  not 
quality  being  the  main  factors  in  purchasing.  To  meet  this  compe- 
tition, either  the  amount  of  vanilla  is  decreased  or  a  cheaper  tonka 
or  a  similar  substitution  is  made.  That  these  substitutions  do  not 
replace  the  agreeable  vanilla  flavor  is  a  well-known  fact. 
The  National  Formulary  gives  a  receipt  for  a  compound  tincture 
of  vanillin,  a  colored,  weak  alcoholic  solution  of  vanillin  with  the 
admixture  of  a  small  amount  of  coumarin.  Its  cost  is  rather  less 
than  the  pharmacopceial  tincture.  The  amount  of  vanillin  in  it  is 
however,  excessive;  less  than  half  the  amount  given  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  a  preparation  intended  for  counter  sale. 
