f)S. 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1883. 



be a loss eompured with paying for jbulbs. I see the 

 latter ailvertisffl at R20 per 1.000; they coukl probably be 

 produccfl from seed for one eii^bth of this rate by the sacri- 

 fice of 12 moutlis ill time. 



Vanilla promises to do well, aud I am propogatiug: as 

 ■ (uiekly as I can with the tew plants I have rather than 

 pay .-i cent an inch at the gardens where it grows like a 

 weed. From experiments already made I believe 1 can 

 gi-ow Kew pines 6 tons to the acre. They would pay well if 

 we could get 18 cents for a 12 lb. pine ' n the spot. There 

 are a few of the pepper vines I put down twelve months 

 ago getting on and growing f^uick, and having now some 

 experience I think 1 can do some good with this product, 

 lint plants are preferable to cuttings, and 1 will get fresh 

 seed as soon as I can obtain it. Nothing thrives here 

 like jak. the average height of two years old trees is 15 

 feet and the yirth of stem from !)tol2 incbes. A few 

 aci'es of llu-iii w.udd pay well when old enough tor tea boxes. 

 1 have put cbuvn the two bags of aiekanuts along the 

 lower sid3 of the roads at three feet apart so far as 

 they went, and I propose to plant Ceara rubber along 

 the upper side. 



Tile bamboo belts have certainly been of service by way 

 of shelter, bnt nothing else grows within the range of its 

 roots. I therefore projiose to cut it down and destroy every 

 slioot that subsequently comes from the roots. It is good 

 for a boundary fence but bad everywhere else. 



1 have planted out .5,(100 tea plants. I was deceived into 

 jilantiiig 1,700 of these yesterday morning, by the appear- 

 ance of the weather : it had thunderecl iuoessantly for 

 three hours, and at 6 o'clock it looked so like the mak- 

 ing of a wet d<ay that I sent the weeders b*ck to the 

 lines and with the males of my gang set vigorously to plant- 

 ing up. Till near 10 it threatened heavy rain, when sud- 

 denly the clouds cleared away and the sun came out 

 bright and hot ; many of the plants are drooping today 

 and though this day is gloomy there has not been a drop of 

 rain. I find they only want a shower to settle them to 

 be all safe so far as weather is concerned, but the crickets 

 are at their old work and the plants are being cut both 

 in the field and the nursery. 



I have planted out the nutmegs, and they all seem to 

 he getting on well. I find I m.ade a mistake in quitting 

 the seeds in baskets ; if I have to deal with any more I 

 will merely put them in a well mauipulated bed. If the 

 weather is favourable they do not suffer from transijlant- 

 ing without balls. 



I am gi'adually getting a few orange plants out of the 

 danger of their numerous enemies: they get on rapidly 

 M-lieii they reach IS inches. The rambutan of the various 

 fruits I have tried get on best and seem to have no 

 enemies. 



This is not a country for cotton ; it is ready enough to 

 be a weed, but the produce is not worth gathering. 



CULTURE OF VANILLA. 



The gentleman who sends us the notes by an experienced 

 ' vanilla, jilanter in Mauritius, of which the following is a trans- 

 lation, says : — " The writer of tlie notes had the finest 

 vanilla in the island when 1 was there." 



1. The first tbiug to do, in the formation of a vanilla 

 plantation, is to divide the land, if this is possibh', into 

 beds about five feet apart. 



2. Kach bed sliould be about five and a-half feet wide, 

 and dug to a depth of about oiw foot, to form a sort of 

 draiiKige and prevent the water lodging too long at the 

 feet of the v.anilla plants. 



3. Tlie beds formed and dug. they must be raised if 

 possible .six inches above the soil, by means of smaller 

 rocks or rubble arranged on both sides of each bed, and, if 

 necessary, take the earth found in the space between the 

 two beds to make the neces.sary elevation for planting 

 the creepers, 



4. Kdnotniix this prepaivd earth with strong animal 

 niiiiiure: if po.ssible, add to it a little eomjiost formed 

 of leaves and detritus of all sorts. 



n. 'J'be vanilla creepers should be chosen good and in- 

 flict ; carefully .avoid getting sickly creepers or those having 

 already a yellowish color; if possible always plant creeper.s. 

 //>/',• or iifc feet long: the return is quicker and the 

 result more certain. 



1 6. To plant the vanilla creepers supports are neceesary, 

 i and if you have not natural supports, such as trees, or 

 I high walls, the plant which we prefer to employ is the 

 jiiywut (V ImUy'^ a milky shrub, the foliage of which is 

 t rather dense during summer : the leaves fall in winter, 



just when the vanilla ripens. 

 { 7. To proceed with the planting of the vanilla cuttings 

 : you must first cut with a penknife the first leaves at the 

 extremity of the cutting is to which be put into the 

 earth, but not cut them too close to the woody stem. This 

 operation completed, you bury the three joints of the 

 cutting wliich have had the leaves all off, and that not 

 too deep, about two inches, in tlie earth ; the long creepers 

 are then raised on then- support either natural or arti- 

 ficial. 



.H. The planting finished, you must always take care to 

 put straw or dried grass on all the beds to maintain a 

 constant humidity about the roots which will be thro\vu 

 out ill a short time and which \vill always tend to rise 

 to the surface of the soil. If there is the means, do not 

 fail to water in dry seasons : it is a plant which asks for 

 continual moisture without, however, being inundated, and 

 on this account a good drainage in recommended in the 

 preparation of the beds. 



9. AVhen the creepers have rooted and begin to grow 

 never take away the suckers which give them new life 

 if the foot be dead : and when the creeper has attained 

 a certain length you may cut it down to the soil and 

 operate as if for layering, bury it about two inches dee]i, 

 at the same time cutting ofi" the leaves which will be under 

 the earth, to stimulate the roots to jiut forth. 



10. The fertilization must always take place in the morn- 

 ing until 10 o'clock at the latest, and above all do not 

 retain too many porls on the same cluster -. three or four 

 are more than enough ; nevertheless it is necessary to fert- 

 ilize all the flowers that appear, in order to he more 

 certain of the complete success later ou of removing the 

 jiods if all the flowers have been successfully fertilized. 



11. The gathering finished, it is well to take down the 

 creepers which are too long and also in order to cut off the 

 new creepers to increase the plantation. 



12. Never fertilize too much the flowers which appear 

 during the fii'st year of planting ; you will weaken your 

 vanillas, and your plants will run the ri.sk of sickening. 

 Your cropping must not begin until the second or 

 third year, if you have planted creepers four or five feet 

 ill length ; otherwise you must wait much longer. 



VA. Every, year after the croping, add a little earth to 

 the compost ou the plantation to cover the roots which have 

 come to the surface of the soil and always put a covering 

 of straw over all, in case of drought. 



These are the first principles to follow ui order to have 

 a good vanilla plantation. 



As,<ak<i;tida. — This evil-smelling but valuable pro- 

 duct, valuable in medicine and in Indian cookery, 

 seems to be obtained like opium, but instead of the 

 seed bulbs it is the s' em which is wounded for the 

 drug under notice. We quote from the proeeedinis 

 of the Madras Agri-Hortieultnral Socieiy : — Read 

 the following letter from Messrs. Gray Mackenzie 

 & Co.. dated Busreb, 21st Peceinber lSS-2 •— " We duly 

 received your letter of lOih October and delayed reply- 

 iug till we could give Boine lufoniiation regarding the 

 aesafcetida plant. We are getting some seeds from Shiraz 

 and Ispahan and when they anive, they will be sent 

 to you. The bush requires a damp soil and grows 

 only where there is plenty of water. It arrives at 

 miiiurity about July-August and dries up soon after- 

 war'ls. The asa'atida is procured tiy incision in the 

 stem ot the bush from whence the gum oozes out. 

 The finest qualities .are procured in the north ot 

 Pesia, those of tlie south being inferior. The plant 

 grows to a height of about 5 feet, and has tKe ap- 

 pearance of a miuature tree, rather than a bush." 



* The Jayiopha C'limis is called pigjimi d' Iiulc or mcdici- 

 iiic; in Mauiitius. See Tiopical Agi-icultUiht,\o\.l, p. 64. 



