VANILLA, 149 
during a certain period of the year. The protecting trees ought 
to be planted six feet apart, in rows from east to west. They 
should be occasionally pruned, so as to produce a ha/f-shade or 
chequered shade, and they should be sufficiently grown to produce 
this demi-jour before the vanillas are planted. In case, however, 
one should require to plant before the necessary shade exists, the 
plants should be surrounded with paim leaves in preference, and 
watered much more often than if they had their natural shade ; 
the cuttings should be planted at the side of the supporting tree 
opposed to the sun. The longer the cutting, the more knots must 
be put into the ground; one knot when the cutting has three, 
two when it has four, and four or five knots when long creepers 
are planted. These cuttings should be laid in the ground the 
tendrils towards the tree, and well fixed with one, two, or several 
flat ties according to their length. They should not be tied with 
round string, which would eventually strangle the plants, but with 
a sort of bast or fibre from the leaf of the Pandanus vacoa. 
Mauure to the cuttings would be hurtful, but rooted plants may 
be manured with rotted dung if the soil be poor. Vegetable ma- 
nure composed of rotted leaves is preferable to dung, being less 
heating ; but the stuff must be well rotted, as the young roots are 
very tender and delicate. Watering in the first few days after plant- 
ing is always an absolute necessity, particularly in a dry locality. 
Plants put in in the middle of the cold season languish, lose their 
buds, and often perish. The earth should be trodden down on 
each plant after havicg been watered. ‘The plantation should not 
be made very near the sea-shore unless protected by trees from 
the direct action of the salt air blowing over the plants, as such 
would render them poor and sickly. A ground sloping to the 
west is preferable, as permitting more warmth to the plants and 
less exposure to the wind. It is advised to manure the plants 
once a year, a little before the flowering-season, and to cover the 
manure with stones to prevent its evaporation ; the stones also 
serving to keep the roots cool, and prevent the rains washing the 
earth away. ‘Too much shade, or shade badly applied, seem 
almost as prejudicial to a good crop as the other extreme of ex- 
posure. Pods which have been too much shaded are long, soft, 
thin, and difficult to ripen ; whereas, on the contrary, when they 
are sufficiently exposed to the sun they are fat, round, firm, and 
contain much more flavour. 
