The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-07-17

pulp, which is rather sticky and ~tasteless but IL
edible, and the seed is covered with a hard furry
substance. After a sufficient quantity OF the
fruit has been gathered. the sarrapiero takes
the lot to some open place where he can get the
benefit of strong sunlight. The hard shell is
carefully crushed between two stones, and a sim
gle oblong bean of dark-brown color is obtained.
After a heap of these has been secured they are
spread out on the large open masses of granite
called lajas, which form a peculiar feature of the
forests of this region. When dried, these are
the tonqua beans of commerce as they are sold
to the merchants and exporters in Ciudad Boil
var. By the end of May or the first part Of
June the crop is about exhausted and the Caura
river again becomes alive with the returning
boats. From the Caura they go into the Orinoco
and thence down to Ciudad Bolivar, where the
sarrapieros sell their accumulations of beans to
the large exporting houses.
Before the tonqua beans are exported they go
through a process of crystallizing by being
stepped in strong rum or alcohol. Casks open at
one end are placed in rows and filled to within
about a foot of the top with the beans. The
rum is then poured in until the cask is full. 1t
is then covered by layers of bagging or gunny
sacks. At the end Of "a hours the rum that has
not been absorbed is run of and the beans taken
out and spread out to dry in a current of air.
When first taken out the beans are of a dull
black color and are soft and swollen with the
absorbed fluid. On drying shiny white crystals
appear on the surface of the beans, which gives
them the sugar-coated appearance they have
when they arrive at their final destination In
Europe or the United States. In the drying
process they shrink considerably. and this gives
them the wrinkled surface. They are shipped,
In wine casks or rum puncheons to the markets
of the world.
AS indicated heretofore, the value of the bean
lies in it's sweet and lasting odor, and its active
principle is much used by the manufacturer OF
perfumes as a basis. While the odor is really
that of sweet clover or freshly cut grass, it re-
sembles that of the vanilla bean so closely that
the tonqua bean has been used as an adulterant
in the cheaper grades of vanilla extracts. Once
upon a time, when our not very remote fore
fathers had the habit of taking a pinch Of SNUFF
to titillate their olfactories to the sneezing point,
the bean was in great demand. Every jar Of
snuff on the shelves of the wealthy contained
several of these sweet-smelling beans, and even
in the gold or silver pocket snuffboxes carried by
our grandfathers a single bean was usually found
to add its fragrance to the pungent powder
which gave them such delight. Later the beans
were used in pulverized form to give a delight
full aroma to smoking tobacco, one use to which
they are still sometimes put. A cheaper substi-
tute has been found. however, in the 80
called wild vanilla" found in Florida, and the
ordinary grade of smoking tobacco knows not
the fragrance of the tonqua bean.
The price Of the beans varies greatly and de-
ponds largely upon whether there is a good or
poor crop. The crop of 1912 was very short
and the price rose to $4.87 per pound. According
year 1t fell to less than 81 per pound. According
to the commercial statistics of the United States
importations during the year ending June 30,
1913, amounted to 7S3,88S pounds, valued at
s1,140,409. These figures are some evidence that
the scent of "new-mown hay" is still quite popu-
lar In the United States. for the scent is about
all there is to the tonqua bean. 1t lends its
fragrance to fine tobacco for the smoker, to fine
toilet soaps, to "brilliantine." and other hair
dressings and dyes, to dainty cosmetics that
softly tint the cheeks and lips of beauty, to flavor
ing extracts used in CONNECTIONS and ice creams,
and to many other things that crafty the sense
of smell. Thus has an agreeable odor become
an important commercial commodity.