The Idaho Springs siftings-news. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1905-19??, 1915-07-17

tory nerves OF prince and pauper.
of the scullery maid and the pam
perec social butterfly. whose more or less remote
ancestors doubtless breathed IN the perfume
it from the dew-covered, tender grass they
moved with shining blade and gathered with
their strong arms. The attraction OF the
perfume seems to have fingered even through
many generations
New-mown hay not being always available and
somewhat too bulky for aesthetic when
It is, the art OF the perfumer has been called
upon to crafty the sense of smell which longed
for this particular aroma: "newmo hay"
WAS added to the varied perfumes OF Araby'
used as toilet accessories In liquid form, and now
'mady" may inhale the delicious odor from her
cut glass scent bottle. Mayhap she pictures to
herself the sturdy youth with big bare
swinging his cleaning scythe and gathering the
sweet young grass which she fondly thinks is
the source Of the delicious essence she now In
hales. But perfumes like many other things,
are not always what they seem. Grass freshly
cut or otherwise. has had nothing to do with the
production OF the sweet-scented liquid labeled
"newmown hay" The source of the essence ia
really bean. Not the prosaic everyday com
monpIace. edible bean Of our market gardens
but a bean that grows In that section OF the
world where once Ell Dorado. the "Gilded One"
was thought to rule in glitterng splendor; that
tabled land In the fruitess quest of which so
many daring. goldloying adventures spent
money, time and even lives most lavishly 1t Is
known as the Tonqua. Tonka Tonqun bean
eTTOleOusV
thought to have been first introduced into Eu.
rope from the Chinese province OF Tonqun How
ever It got its name. the real Of the bean
is to be found in the tropical countries of South
America. chiefly in the valleys OF the OrInoco
Caura. and Cuchivero rivers In Venezuela and IN
certain sections OF Colombia
The bean is the seed of Dipterix odorata a
tree belonging to the leguminosae or pulse family
The genus dipterix comprises about eight specie,
all large trees to be found in the forests Of RI.
rnJn
ical South America generally. having no repre
sentatives in northern localities The tree grows
from 60 to 90 feet high with trunk sometimes
three feet In diameter The ridescent pods are
about two inches long, almond shaped and very
thick; the single seed is inch long and
shaped somewhat like large kidney bean; It
has wrinkled skin of shiny black color when
ready for the market The odor. which is re.
markedly strong. resembles that of sweet clover
or new-mown hay, and is due to the presence Of
coumarin. concrete crystazabe. volatile
neutral substance, which is soluble in alcohol
and ether and somewhat In boiling water.
from which 1t crystaizes cooling The beans
often frosted with crystals of this substance
which show distinctly their black surface and
give them the appearance of being sugar coated
AS stated the tree is indigenous to tropical
South America. but the section which produces
the largest quantities and perhaps the best
riety of the beans is the region between the
Caura and Cuchivero rivers The watershed be-
tween these two streams consists OF several
mountain ranges OF granite formation. the most
considerable OF which is the Serrania de Mato.
On the right bank of the Caura river mountains
Of similar formation of which Turagua is the
highest also exist The average altitude OF these
ranges is between 5000 md 1000 feet, although
there peaks high 5000 feet. Besides
the mountain ranges many isolated hills and
large open masses OF granite, only a little higher
than the surrounding country. scattered
through the forest The land in the vicinity OF
these mountains consists largely OF granite grit,
and 1t is this soil that seems to be the most ia
vorable for the growth OF the tonqua- bean tree.
The trees not usually found In groves. but
grow singly though small clumps are occasional
ly found The gathering of the nuts Is thus all
the more difficult and arduous. The wood OF the
tree rs remarkably close-grained, very hard and
heavy and Of reddish color. In respects
it resembles gnum-vitae and is frequently mis-
taken for It. 1t Is highly priced a cabinet
wood. While cultivation OF the tree has been at
tempted in Trinidad and other OF the West Indies
to limited extent, the fact that 1t takes from
ten to twelve years to come into bearing has dis
couraged any systematic efforts along this line,
and the wild product Is still depended upon to
supply the market Again the crops seem to
be very irregular and It Is impossible to forecas:
the yield Of any particular year. AS rule there
is perhaps not more than one good crop in every
three years, production in the intervals being
so that It hardly pays to collect the beans.
In Venezuela the tree is known sarrapia, and
the men engaged in the collection Of the seeds
beans are called sarrapieros Ciudad Bolivar
is the center OF the tonqua-bean industry OF
Venezuela, and It is there that the sarrapieros
market their product.
One factor which has much to do with curtail-
Ing the tonqua-bean crop is the presence OF birds
in the tropical forests where the trees grow.
Especially are the large macaws with their gor.
eeously colored plumage and the many other
varieties OF the parrot family to DO found in