Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/305

CH. XX.] white, intermixed with red and yellow, and, when these fall off, the fruit succeeds in small green pods, in shape not unlike the plantain. The pods are at first green, then yellow and finally brown: they are gathered in the second state, before they begin to burst, and are then laid in small heaps, for two or three days, to ferment: they are afterwards exposed to the sun, being flattened with the hand and occasionally rubbed over with cocoa-, palm- or other oil. As moisture, heat, and shade are requisite for the production of vaynilla, the Antigua is well adapted for its cultivation; but the quantity made is very trifling; though it might become a lucrative article of exportation, and, I have no doubt, will be so, as soon as the commerce of the country is settled on a more solid basis.

We returned home to dinner about mid-day: I went into the kitchen to view the preparations, for the purpose of observing the style of cooking: the whole was effected by