SCIENCE & PROGRESS.

Manawatu Herald, 8 March 1898, Page 4

SCIENCE & PROGRESS.

THE VANILLA ORCHID. Tho Aroma cf tho Dried Vanilla Bean I« the Result of Fermentation. Wo nre so accustomed to speak of vanilla as the product of the "vanilla bean" that perhaps few persons are aware that it lias no connection -,71th either tho bean or tho bean family, but is produced by a beautiful, sweet scented, climbing orchid. Dr. R. W. Shufeldt explains this widespread error by tho fact that the vanilla capsulo or pod, which is slender, from 6 to 10 inches long and enly three-eighths of an inch in diameter, has a vague resemblance to certain bean pods. The aroma of vanil-

FLOWERING BRANCII OF VANILLA— RIPE POD. la, too, is said not to pre-exist in the pod, but to be produced by a process of fermentation. Among other interesting statements made by Dr. Shufeldt in Popular Science News, tho source of the- accompanying cut, are the following: In Mexico aftor gathoring tho pods are placed under sheds in heaps until they begin to shrivol. Then they are allowed to ferment slightly, after which thoy are exposed to the sun in woolen blankets during the day and kept in airtight tin boxes nt night. At the end of a day or a day and a half they have assumed a rich, chocolate brown color. They are then placed In tho sun for two months or moro to dry, at tho end of which they are pliable and free from moisture. When finally prepared, the pods are sorted according to lengths, tied up in bundles of 50 and packed in airtight tin boxes. When proporly prepared, and in what is called "prime condition," the vanilla pods become covered with a frosting of little needleliko crystals of vanillio acid, aro soft when pressed between tho fingers and give off the characteristic balsamlo odor. The perfume or essence is extracted from the vanilla pod by prolonged soaking in alcohol. Tho proper proportion is about one-half pound of pods to each gallon of 60 per cent alcohol. A word as to the sources of supply and quantities used may be of interest. The oitiea of New York, London and Paris may bo regarded as the vanilla markets of I the world. The supply sent to New York is produced in Mexico and is regarded as I the finest quality grown. Tho amount imported in 1891 was 135,875 pounds. The Pacific coast and western portions of tho United States obtain a part of their supply from the island of* Tahiti and the Sandwich Islands, but the quantity imported - in 1891 was only about 6,000 pounds. The quality is much inferior to the Mexican. Tho London supply is obtained largely from tho Mauritius and Seychelles. The greater part of tho vanilla imported into Franco comes from Reunion. In 1880 the amount was 164,289 pounds, and in 1889 it had Increased to 506,402 pounds, or more than twice tho product of tho rest of the world. ' : Manufacture of Wood Stone. • A remarkable material known as wood Btone, although invented ton years ago, la just beginning to be appreciated. Its manufacture has been undertaken on an extensive ecalo by a Dresden firm, and its nso as a building material is increasing. It is composed, in duo proportions, of magnesia cement, mixed with sawdust and saturated with a solution of chlorido of calcium, the pasty mass, before the content sets, being spread out into sheets of uniform thickness and subjected to great pressure, then dried. Tests made of its ohemical and mechanical qualities show that the dry material is much superior to the same soaked with water, dry specimens resisting a tendenoy of about 100 pounds per square inch, while pieces saturated with water resisted only two-thirds as muoh. Soaking the dry material in linseed oil increased the tensile strength about 16 per cent, and freezing diminished it slightly. , Two Interesting Bicycle*. Two interesting novelties in a recent English cycle show were a "ball tire" bioyole and the "bamboo." The latter to

Wmm BALL TIRE AND BAMBOO BICYCLE& H^Brndsome, astonishingly light and claims n^H be6trong, a claim whioh the well known ■■^■aracteristics of bamboo render very IHBedlble. H^H Improvised liens. ■■^■Tbe glass lens used by professors may be H^Bry well replaced by a carafe or round Hl^Hater bottle full of water. A candle la IHHhted in the darknesa,and on holding the HBBttle between the light and a wall, which HHH&s aa a screen, we ccc the reflected light HMKned upside down by means of the oou* ■I^Hrgent lens we have improvised.