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392 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1900. 
The treatment by chloride of calcium, CaCl,, as indeed do all the other 
methods of treatment, consist of several operations— 
1. Stoppage of vegetation. 
2. First drying and colouring. 
3. Drying. 
4, Watching. 
1. The process of drying in a stove, by means of hot water, is the ong 
resorted to. On the day of the cropping, or the next day at latest, the pods are 
put to dry by heat in thin cases of the following dimensions :—0°220 metres y 
0:220 metres by 0°350 metres. Old petroleum oil tins are generally used fort 7 
purpose. The size may be slightly altered, but the width and breadth of the oe 
should not be too large, as the vanilla in the centre should be subjected to ? 
same heat as that which is nearest to the sides of the box. Otherwise 00 
treatment of the pods in the centre would not be assimilated to that of those # 
the sides, and the resultant colouring would be slightly different. 
These boxes are fitted with lids closing on the outside of the box. ee 
are lined with wool carefully arranged along the bottom and up the sides, 2” 
little over the top of the sides. ane 
The vanilla pods are placed on end close enough to secure pressure wit 
damage by rubbing; a horizontal layer is placed on top of these, the woolle 
covering is folded over all and the lid put on. ' 
The boxes thus arranged are put into the halves of wine barrels, and nt 
water emptied into the barrels up to the lid of the boxes, care being taken 3 
no water gets into the boxes. In order to prevent the sudden cooling of t 
hot water, the barrelis covered with a piece of sacking. It is left thus cove” 
during one night. 
2. Next morning the pods are withdrawn and exposed in the air for some 
time to dry; then for two or three days they are kept under woollen covering® 
in full sunlight. : 
For this operation low wooden boxes are used, a single layer of pods bene 
placed in the bottom and covered with a woollen cloth. The boxes are place ee 
sunlight on trestles to prevent contact with more or less moist earth. A 
this operation the colouring of all the pods will be uniform if the drying Y 
hot water has been properly done. 
Now is the moment to proceed to the drying operation. 
3. The old methods of preparation, drying in the open air upon screens HP 
an airy situation, or in hot-air stoves, in which the heat is constantly renew 
result in a loss of perfume, and at the same time require a large amoum 
hand labour. These drawbacks are avoided by drying in closed vessels by me 
of chloride of calcium, CaCle. « 
This operation is carried on in boxes of galvanised iron with a hinged doo 
and closing on an indiarubber edging to ensure air-tightness. 
Each box has eleven drawers or trays; the bottom and the sixth ara 
are for the vessels containing chloride of calcium, the others are for holding the 
vanilla; in the former are placed 18 kilos. of chloride of calcium and ™ 
latter 45 kilos. of vanilla. er fle 
The vanilla is laid upon wooden hurdle-shaped frames resting upo? iy 
brackets riveted into the sides of the box. The tray can thus be drawn 0” 
order to arrange the vanilla properly. Several layers are placed on each een 
The trays should not be made of resinous or smelling woods, a8 V4" ¢ 
absorbs and retain odours it comes in contact with; the hurdling is made 
split rattans, the 
The vessels containing chloride of calcium should be double bottomed, “it 
inner one being perforated to allow of the escape of the liquid chloride of calet 
Each time the case is open the chloride vessels should be looked to, AN” 
chloride renewed or added to as necessary. When the trays are filled © 
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