"Vanilla" Under

A Cloud

What Should Tahiti Product Be Called?

IT appears that there is some confusion as to the correct name of the climb ing tropical orchid called Vanilla, from which comes a widely known flavour ing essence.

The International Rules for Botanical Nomenclature say that the name which has been longest in use must take priority, so Vanilla officially has been Vanilla Planifolia, a name first used in 1808. Now, some scientific nark has discovered that, in 1807, the vine was named Vanilla Fragans; and an ordered world is try ing to change the habits of 130 years.

This is bad enough. But it has been discovered also that there are two or more types of Vanilla: which of them is to be known as Vanilla Fragrans? Says American expert, writing in July, “It is entirely possible that some of the vanilla planifolia vines that were trans planted to other parts of the world were not the same as vanilla fragrans. but really possessed the character of other varieties having a similar appearance.

“The complete difference in flavour character and chemical composition, of the vanilla fruits from Tahiti have caused many to believe that they are not truly from vanilla fragrans, and that their use might be open to question in products labelled as ‘Vanilla’. It is not believed that any botanical investigation of the Tahitian vines has been made in recent years by persons competent to identify them.

“In 1939, there were 115,675 pounds of vanilla beans imported into the United States from Tahiti, compared with 21,498 pounds the previous year. The total of all other groups in 1939 was 901,402 pounds, which was a drop from the 1,001,967 pounds in 1938, from the same sources. Bourbon and Mexican vanilla beans, in early June, 1940, were quoted at approximately $6.50 per pound, while Tahitian beans were around $3.00 per pound.”

Dr. Geoff. Courtney, one-time Govern ment medical officer at Tonga and also of Nauru Island, recently relinquished his appointment as Superintendent of Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement, North Queensland, to take up Australian war duty. He has been succeeded at Palm Island by his father, who will be remem bered as a former medical officer with the Vanikoro Timber Co., at Santa Cruz, 8.5.1. Mrs. Courtney, Jnr., with her three children is living at Canterbury, Mel bourne.

Mr. J. Duncan, of Rapopo Plantation, Kokopo, TNG, writes, “You gave me the wrong initials when you published a paragraph in the October ‘PIM’ concern ing my taking Carpenter and Co.’s small steamer to Australia. My name is James —known to the rising generation as ‘Uncle Jimmy’; Captain R. C. Duncan has not been in the Territory for many years—the last I heard of him was on the China coast.”

Leading Aircraftman John Head, 25. formerly of Fiji, was killed on Novem ber 11 when an RAAF training plane with five other occupants crashed at Cootamundra, NSW. Head was dragged from the blazing wreckage, but died later in hospital. He enlisted in the Air Force last April when in Sydney on leave from his job as an overseer of a CSR

plantation in Fiji.