April i, 1884.J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



753 



rocks of High Knoll, Ladder Hill, Rupert's Hill, and Sugar 

 Loaf. It is an article of commerce in Ceylon and India, 

 and much esteemed in England as affording a line blue 

 or purplish dye. If on investigation it is abundant in 

 other parts of the island, it might be usefully collected 

 and form an article of export. 



Vanilla. — This valuable spice plant is being tried on a 

 small scale, but the results so far are not satisfactory, 

 owing chiefly to a want of knowledge of the requirements 

 of the plant, and the proper methods for artiii*.ially fert- 

 ilizing the flowers. The plants require warm and veil 

 sheltered situations, very moist, rich soil, and plenty of shade. 

 Vanilla is a valuable spice, which in some countries, as 

 in the Isle of Bourbon, where it has been successfully in- 

 troduced and cultivated, forms a valuable article of export. 

 ■VTell-cured vanilla-pods fetch as much as SOs. per pound. 

 The following directions for establishing vanilla from cut- 

 tings, and curing the pods, have been lately published by 

 the Botanical Department, Jamaica, and I quote them 

 as applicable in every respect to the circumstances of 

 St. Helena. 



" I'anilla. — This is a vigorous soft-stemmed plant, the 

 ciu*ed fruits of which are the valuable vanilla beans of 

 commerce. If cuttings are taken, their upper end or the 

 portion to appear above ground may be readily determined 

 by examination of the base of the attached leaf, in the 

 axil or upper face of which is a small growth bud. 



" Out the stem with, say, three or four joints, at one- 

 fourth of an inch below the bassal node or joint, then 

 place the base of each cutting shallowly in prepared soil, 

 agiust the bole or trunk of a rough-barked, low branch- 

 ing tree, as, for instance, calabash ; or on a low-trellised 

 frame 3 to 4 feet high, the supports of which should be 

 uubarked logwood, yoke or calabash. 



'* If the insect which fertilises the flowers of this or- 

 chid, in its natm-al habitat, is not present, in order to 

 secure a crop of fruit it is necessary that the flowers 

 should be artificially fertilised. This may be easily accom- 

 phshed as follows; — 



'• In the flower is a central white column, at the sum- 

 mit of which is a detachable cap or anther, which if 

 touched on the lower front edge with a sharpened pencil 

 or knife blade will adhere to the implement. The pollen 

 masses contained in the anther must then be made to 

 lightly touch the viscous (sticky) disk situated on the 

 front of the column. Each flower nnist be so treated at 

 or about noon of the day on which it opens. 



*' To cure vanilla beans gather when f uU ; steep for about 

 two minutes in boiling water and place in flannel to dry 

 in the sun. When perfectly dry place them next day on 

 plates of iron or tin, anointing ouce or twice with sweet 

 oil, to keep them soft and plump. Complete the curing 

 process by exposing them carefully in the sun for several 

 days. When quite cured they should have a uniformly 

 rich brown colour, and the full fragrance of this valuable 

 product." 



Olives. — Fine trees of the true olive {Olea europosa) grow 

 in the neighbourhood of the Briars (the residence of the 

 Honourable George Moss), and at certain times they are 

 loaded with fruit. Extensive areas at similar elevation 

 might be placed under cultivation in oli\es which are ad- 

 mirably adapted to the circumstances of the island. The 

 best varieties of olives are grafted, aud if a few plants 

 of the finest and largest Spanish olives were introduced, 

 grafts from these might be established on seedhugs raised 

 in the island. I have no doubt that green olives of fine 

 quality might be grown in St. Helena, and from the pre- 

 sent trees as they stand large quantities of oil might be 

 prepared. 



For further information respecting • the cultivation I 

 am indebted to Mr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer, O.M.Ci., for 

 the following extract from an article on " The Vine and 

 Olive in Siena," in the Journal of the Society of Arts. 

 for October 19, 1883, pp. 1005-C. 



The oUve is cultivated on the hills. In some places 

 it is grown in plantations, aud in others the trees are 

 generally plauted in rows along the fields, in combination 

 with other cultures. The varieties most generally grown 

 are the corregffiolo, the moraiolo which ripens early, and 

 the olirastro. The trees are grown from sUps cut in the 

 spring, which are planted in holes in ground that has 

 been well broken up aud covered with mould, aud watered 

 96 



as required. The hardiest shoot is subsequently selected 

 and may be permanently planted in three years. The 

 olive is also raised from seed. In the districts of Siena, 

 when a tree is about to be cut clown, the uovult, or eyes, 

 on the roots are detached, aud placed in a separate plot 

 of ground, plants being obtained from them in three years, 

 which can then be transplanted. In the wooded districts 

 where the wild oUve is plentiful, grafting is comraordy 

 employed. The trees are usually planted in holes or 

 ditches of more than two yards square, and a yard deep, 

 drained with a layer of stones. "When the olives are 

 planted in rows in the fields, they are generally pruned 

 a 2>fineira, nearly aU the inner branches being cut away 

 from the centre to enable air and light to penetrate freely. 

 The trees are pruned every two or three years. The most 

 careful cultivators apply a special manure when the trees 

 are between five and eight years old, composed of straw 

 mixed with woollen rags, the whole saturated and moist- 

 ened with sewage, but this is not general, as the trees 

 profit by the manure laid on the fields. It is estimated 

 that in the Province of Siena, one acre of rines vrill pro- 

 duce 115 gallons of wine, and an acre of olives, 20 gal- 

 lons of oil ; the quantity of the former actually produced 

 in 1882 amounting to 10,898,000 gallons, aud of the latter 

 780,000 gallons. 



Cork. — The cork oak grows so freely near Plantation, at 

 Oakbank, Terrace Knoll, and other places that it may be 

 said to be naturahsed in the island. The bark, so fai' as 

 I am aware, has never been utihsed or its value tested 

 in the English market. If the seetl, produced so abund- 

 antly, were sown on waste banks and ridges, the timber 

 at least would be very valuable, and an opportunity would 

 be ofi'ered for placing the cork in the market for experi- 

 mental trial. 



Flower Cultivation for extracting Perfume. — The luxuriant 

 manner in which many garden plants, such as Gardenia 

 aud others, flourish in the island has suggested the poss- 

 ibility of cultivating them for the sake of extracting their 

 perfume. The difliculty hitherto has been to obtain a 

 simple and inexpensive apparatus, by means of which the 

 perfume can be extracted. From inquiries made, after my 

 return to London, I believe, provided a suflicient quantity 

 of flowers can be obtained, an apparatus designed aud 

 supplied by the firm of Eugene Rimmel woidd fully answer 

 the purpose. 



Arroieroot. — The cultivation of tho arrowroot p]a.nt (Mar- 

 anta arundinacca) should be largely undertaken, as it would 

 flourish in most gardens with very Uttle care or attention. 

 Arrowroot is a pure nutritious starch obtained fri m the 

 roots of the plants when about 12 months' old. The staich 

 is extracted from the tubers, by reducing them to a pulp 

 in water, straiuiug, allowing the fecula or meal to subside, 

 again washing it, and ultimately allowing it to dry. 



Turmeric, — This is a medicinal and tinctorial substance 

 obtained from the root of curcuma lonya, an East Indian 

 plant belonging to the same family as ginger. The pow- 

 dered root forms one of the ingredients in the preparation 

 of Indian curry-stuff or curry powder, to which it imparts 

 its yellowish hue. This plant might be cultivated under 

 similar circumstances to arrowroot; and if not aheady in 

 the island — a plant of it was supposed to be at Oakbank, 

 but I failed to find it — it might be obtained thi'ough the 

 Royal Gardens, Kew. 



Oil riants. — Among the numerous class of oil plants 

 for which the island is adapted mention might be made 

 of the giugelly-oil plants {^csauium orieniale), which is 

 already cultivated to a small extent among the settier.s: 

 pindar-nuts {Arachis hi/poifaa), a productive plant in light 

 sandy soils; croton-oil tree {Crotoa Tii/lit'in), a common 

 East India plant ; castor oil plant {Ilicinus communis), 

 already a common weed near cultivated areas ; physic nut 

 (Jatro2)ha Curcas), which yields a valuable medicinal oil; 

 the African oil-palm i^Elais guitteensis) ; the butter tree, 

 {Ba.-isia buiyracta), a native of Bengal ; and the horse- 

 radish tree, or oil of Ben tree {Morinya jAcryyosperma), 

 a very free-growing and hardy tree, common in the West 

 Indies. 



Ilird Pepper. — which is the source of the Cayenne pep- 

 per of commerce, should be cultivated in dry, hot neighbour- 

 hoods, especially in Jamestown and Rupert's VaUey. It 

 is a cultivation suitable for elderly people, aud those un- 

 able to undertake much bodily fatigue; but if the pepper 



