Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 1 [January 1901]

Vanilla must be cultivated with great care. In Mexico a clearing is made in the forest, leaving a few trees twelve to fifteen feet apart to serve as a support for the vanilla plants. Cuttings of the vanilla stems are made three to five feet in length, one cutting being inserted into the soil to a depth of about ten inches near each tree. The cuttings become rooted in about one month and grow quite rapidly, but do not begin to bear fruit until the third year and continue to bear for about thirty years. In Reunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles the young plants are supported by a rude trellis fastened between the trunks of trees. In cultivation pollination is universally effected artificially; the pollen being transplanted from one flower to another by means of a small brush or pencil. Only the finest flowers are thus fertilized so as to prevent exhaustion and to insure a good commercial article. Among wild growing plants pollination is effected through the agency of insects, which evidently do not occur in the vicinity of the plantations; thus man is called upon to assist nature. The pods are cut off separately as they ripen; if over-ripe they are apt to split in drying; if collected green the product will be of an inferior quality.

The peculiar fragrance of the vanilla pods is due to vanillin, which occurs upon the exterior of the dried fruit in the form of a crystalline deposit, which serves as a criterion of quality. This substance does not pre-exist in the ripe fruit. It is developed in the process of drying and fermentation. In Mexico the collected pods are placed in heaps under a shed until they begin to wilt or shrivel, whereupon they are subjected to the sweating process conducted as follows: The pods are wrapped in woolen cloth and exposed to the sun during the day or heated in an oven at 140°F., then enclosed in air-tight boxes at night to sweat. In twenty-four to thirty-six hours they assume a chestnut-brown color. They are then dried in the sun for several months.

In Reunion the pods are first scalded for a few minutes in boiling hot water, then exposed to the sun for about one week, wrapped in woolen blankets; then spread out and dried under sheds, turning frequently so as to insure uniform drying. When the pods can be twisted around the finger without splitting or cracking the “smoothing process” begins. This consists in rolling the pods between the fingers to distribute the unctuous liquid, which exudes during the sweating process (fermentation), and to which the pods owe their lustre and suppleness.

Vanilla workers are apt to suffer from an affection known as vanillism, characterized by an itching eruption of the skin, nasal catarrh, more or less headache and muscular pain. By some this is said to be caused by a poisonous substance in the vanilla or perhaps the oil of cashew, with which the pods are coated. According to others the trouble, at least the itching and eruption, is caused by a species of acarus (itch mite) found upon the pod. It must also be borne in mind that most of these workers are anything but cleanly in their habits. Bacteria, dirt, etc., find their way to the pods from the dirty hands of the workmen. The entire process of gathering, sweating, drying, smoothing and packing, as carried on in Mexico and South American countries is not conducted in accordance with recognized sanitary rules.

There are a number of commercial varieties of vanilla named after the countries in which they are grown or after the centers of export, as Mexican, Vera Cruz, Bourbon, Mauritius, Java, La Guayra, Honduras and Brazilian vanilla. The most highly valued Mexican variety is known as Vainilla de leg (leg, meaning law). The pods are long, dark-brown, very fragrant and coated with crystals. Since vanilla is a costly article adulteration is quite common. Useless pods are coated with balsam of Peru to give them a good appearance. Split, empty pods are filled with some worthless material, glued together and coated with balsam of Peru.

Vanillin also occurs in Siam benzoin, in raw beet-sugar and in cloves. It has been artificially prepared from coniferin, a substance found in the sap-wood of fir-trees, and from asafoetida. In Germany commercial vanilla is now largely prepared from eugenol, a constituent of oil of cloves.

Vanillin seems to have some special action upon the nervous system, and has been employed in the treatment of hysteria. It is also used to disguise disagreeable tastes and odors of medicines, as in lozenges and mixtures. Its principal use is that of spice for flavoring chocolate, confectionery, ices, ice-cream, drinks, pastry; in the preparation of perfumery, sachet powders, etc. It has a very pleasant, delicate aroma when properly diluted and can be very effectively combined with other odors. Vanilla, combined with almonds, simulates heliotrope.

The poisonous effects of ice creams flavored with vanilla are perhaps not due to vanillin, but to toxins formed by bacteria found upon vanilla pods, or the bacteria of the milk and cream used.

Albert Schneider.