VANILLA BEAN CULTURE. One of the Moat Frofltablo Crops of Tropical Countries. Mexican lirowrrs Receive from 18 t 115 lev a Pouuil of Cured Ueaiu-Tht Drying I'roceiH Is Very Telioua and CoiupilcatMl. A'anilla aa a flavoring for Ice creams and other delicacies, from once being considered a luxury, baa now ooiue t. iio so genorully used tbut it bi consid ered a necessity, uud it would be very Uard to find a sub.+ itute for it. Com mercial extract of vanilla Is obtained from the vanilla bean, which ia a native of Mexico, and is probably the niobt vaJ uable fruit grown, the Uest quality of Mexican beana often being worth near ly their weight in ailver. While the vanilla ia a native of Mexico, of recent years it has been transplanted to a number of different countries, and will grow in any locality where the tcm perature doea not fail below 03 degrees. The beat beans, however, still come from Mexico. The vanilla plant is a climbing vine, wit ha stem about as thick us an ordinary lead pencil, covered with dark-green. s|>ear-shaped leaves. The vine blossom profusely during March and April. The flower is yellow IHI has a very agreeable sweet smell. U.V far the greater number of blossom>- witber and fall off. and the ones pro ducing Ix'unH urea very small percent age of the total number. The beam grow very rapidly for the first two months, and by the Ist of July have attained their full size, and from that lime on grow but little, if any. Tlo bean*, or J*Kl, are from six to twelve inches long, and about half an inch ii diameter, nnd when ripe are about tin color of a banana, nnd have very much the Bain© appearance, except that the\ are a little leas in diameter nnd some what longer. Each vine yields about 100 beans, and some vines have n single branch that bear 12 or 15 pods. From the Ist of July, when the beni is H dark-green color, It grows but lit tie in size, turning gradually a yellow color, until the last of December or Ist DIiYiNQ VANILLA BEANS. of January, wheu it is fully ripe am! ready for gathering. The pods an filled with minute black seeds und small quantity of pulp, nnd when pre pared for market become reduced to r.ltout one-fourth their original thick ncaa, are black in color, and emit aver. sweet, agreeable perfume. The curing of t.he beans is a slovx. tedious process, and one requiring n great amount of care und attention. For the most [jurt the growers do not curs their own beaiis, but sell them in miscellaneous lots to curers, who em ploy experts for that purijose. The total tiine consumed by the curing process is about five months. The beam * soon as gathered are spread out ii the sun on bluck blankets, uud allowed to remain until they are quite hot to the touch. They are then gathered up aud placed in a vweating box, v\ hicli is aim ply a wooden box large enough to hold all the beans. This box is well wormed in the sun, aud its whole interior b then lined with blankets that have been out in the sun. After the beans ure in the box the ends of the blanket* ure folded over them snd other warmed blankets arc placed over and around the box. The whoh i* then allowed to remain for 3ti houns by which time the ripest of the vanilla w ill begin to t urn black, and the bo> will have lot most of ita beat. Tin beans now have to bespread out in the sun again, after which Uiey are agait sweated, und this process continued four or five times, until the beans air the proper color. As the ripe beans turn black th quickest, after each sweating the w hole lot hn* to be gone over, nnd tlie one* v. hlcb are black enough picked out und placed by themselves. Great care must he exercised- in this process, as, if they ere very little oversweated. It ia sufli cient to reduce the weight about one pound per 1,000 beans, which would be a great loss, nnd, na the bean lose* purl of its color when overdried, there le H further loi*i of about one dollar pet pound on uccount of poor color. As soon as the beans hare been sufli cicntly sweated and arc of the proper color they arc spread out on drying lucks, being carefully gone over from day to day, and any that show signs of moisture or mold are taken out and put in the sun until the mold disap pears, when they are again placed on the racks. When of the proper dry ness, which the operator from experi ence can judge very accurately by the feeling of the bean, they are taken from the racks und carefully assorted into lunches of f>o, all the beans in one l.uncli being of the same length. The price the beans bring depends entirely on their length nnd color, says T<e Chicago Record, nnd varies from rigfofdollnrs to fifteen dollars per pound Liicl) bunch of CO beuus weighs from r pound to a pound nnd u half, and a tin containing 40 bunches Is worth there lore in the neighborhood of SSOO, I" 1 ItHlil L fSpeciaities forthe Holidays! | PanrvWnrlrl StollnSllv,r ,Mlr '- ST? ROCHESTER LADIES' FINE SHOES 1 UliU ITI Uln.! Mrs. J. MATHERS. I l@ - 1 XV '1 Boys' and. •Youths' \\ SS. Home-Made Grain and Kangaroo Calf Shoes. // MMTii!' , prJlma a L MoS"" ' "••■■>■ "118 A..rat.FLL(.u. irnnm. // Than Ten Years. T T MAIN STREET. <&' J/J? h To !i"J, bl,l,dance! S^B- - " r I .1 I MEKKT'S™™ l r = ™L. KEIPER, 7 \ we are displaying this year. Two €£ f) Evpryihin imaeinabip for ti . ° '*' At ""* Mam ' W Leading Jeweler (Established isss.) m \ SE i.'.,1l .. v..*. ' ai IJI a §J) . • i . imaginable for the children s stockings, and a great manv f) LJ VC3 floow full, containing the latest and j\ things which will Interest the older people. For the little ones we have * Pj Centre Street .... Above Main M ' l\ handsomest products of the Toy- CO / / Toys and. Tree Ornaments n ' MJ \\ maker's art. Jj of ovary kind-all „f then, hsndwm. and plying, many of them useful and H HeadqUartCrS fOF DiaillOndS, WdtClieS, CIOCkS M \\ Tk. I „ ■i.|| | a~ | , // lasti "B- I rlcos to suit the timus. For yorn.g men wo have M 1 H \\ The Largest 001 lln Frecland // Pipes, Cigar Holders, Smoking Sets , 9 \ \ a> "" "" 11 l ; d otllcr things- which make pleasing holiday gifts. For the older people, '' . " X\ A I nil ■ ninn Z/J fl Who spri ' a<l tl " ! dl "" or wc f" furnish all the delicacies of the season. v T The largest and finest line of ' 'Y. 1 fl | j Watches, ♦ Clocks,iJewelry v{#; f C'LLESPIE & CURRY f at Reasonable Prices JM Pgs||j iLdM- - - vfl? i'l n' The choicest eatable for |j AT BUTTERWIOK'S 4 - 'MA\ other°days. S Every- 1 Corner of 1* ront and Centre Streets. /'il, thing new. Lowest WM. BIRKBECK M fIHS^TSg r lL=Eg=J Hardware Novelties suit- pS 1 (o^s, assortment of useful things gjjjK | jj|> I AN EXCELLENT NEW YEAR GIFT! beaS?ifuTp^se P n?s aSmg WL A Great Stock of Skates. a SUBSCRIPTION TO THE TRIBUNE. BICYCLES AND ALL WHEEL GOODS. jfj pST STOVES, HEATERS, S. WENNER & SONS, ij Steam Fitting, Tin Roofing m "-—■ nn/l QnAllHnrf fj W WL'MM&B I in stock. A big assortment of Dry Goods, which Ifl B,Du OpOllLing. If gfi) I p'fiii® VfM comprises many pieces in Dress Goods and Novel- } i i C tl Sr ties, that could bo turned into appropriate holiday I B PLUMBING A SPECIALTY. I f Y (PXSffiSI 1 1 I .*- I PRICES ALWAYS REASONABLE. jg I j i i...f.iuL .on ■...-Li—. M| J. J. SWEENEY, NECKWEAR., Iff" - itt- T v ¥ . : 7T77TT7T7TT~7~~; I ROCKERS - COUCHES 1 10% r ummrvfmtwSS HATS, CAPS, I In the Grand, Rush of Gift-Giving Wif BtlBM Wt \\ GLO\IS, Etc. I Do not„forget the old folks or your married friends. Santa Claus will v U V\\ m.gant sub:,rtomikcrehiefe -Mimj van.- g take good care of the children, while the duty devolves upon you to / H General Store. Vi \ tie*—suitable for Uoibiay Pr.ni. Ifl remember your parents and aged relatives. Make this a Happy New 'II \\ \ * them with a big soft Rocker or a modern Couch. The y p z?Z; [ !Numerous Bargains for the Holidays \ \ 1. fi I pleased and will bless you. We are carrying an extra large stock this l| ° II H In Clothing and Furniture. J J*SS If 111. X N !\\ FRESH GROCERIES OF ALL KINDS. ! / f/ WILUAMSONVH I |MUI (V --. ■// J offers to holiday buyers a \l§M| 4 h.achoiceimaor Birkbeck Street, / f ch °'ce selection of useful 1 lf| c=nf3=ticnery Jj ' ■, H .bcrt. r//, r articles in Hardware. All 1 f| -> i i If QkTOvV sorts of presents for trades- IB Lciul)MCll H " ' KR men. A big stock of Fancy I Bl I Btpmaus for / iiaUAty*. 1 1 rtswU ' \ Lamps, any one of which j [ U <jg^p \ married friends Skates, 19 01 I O\H il xU IPWYWIPPIN Closing out entire stock V Pocket Knives, for the boys. Ml • ° f Clothin S, Gents' Fur \ FULL LINE OF STOVES, HEATERS AND i/Jli 1 if '[!• V ™ 188 Ljnishing Goods, Boots L \ GENERAL HARDWARE. /MM !l >uh I ! ' and Shoes. We are go- L\ y, ~ , Jr , /Sj 1111,1 !Ji ; ®x OTOTT** *rmr. ing out of business A 1 wasnillgton ana Front ■,. great opportunity to buy gifts in Hankerchiefs, Gloves. w\ BTUEErs. (1, 1 U'.-'/; Mufflers, etc. Everything sold below wholesale cost. i V aiKl} . - j Auction Sale Every Saturday Night.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers