30 



bearing, they require little or no attention except the 

 gathering of the nuts. There are many varieties of cocoa- 

 nuts in Hawaii, but the Samoan variety is generally 

 considered the most profitable to raise. A few trees of, 

 a strictly dwarf variety are known, on which the nuts 

 are borne within three or four feet of the ground. This 

 variety is not only highly ornamental, but a good yielder 

 and a very convenient variety for picking. 



VANILLA. 



As is generally known, vanilla is the dried and fer- 

 mented pod of a twining orchid, which requires a tropi- 

 cal climate for its growth. The plants are allowed to 

 climb on a trellis or on the trunks of trees. Propagation 

 is by means of cuttings. The vanilla plant blooms at 

 the third year from planting, and the pods mature about 

 six to eight months later. The flowers require pollina- 

 tion by hand; but this process is readily learned. The 

 curing and fermentation of vanilla pods is a somewhat 

 difficult and complicated manipulation. 



There are only two or three commercial plantings of 

 vanilla on our Islands, and reliable statistics regarding 

 the yield are not yet forthcoming. The quality, however, 

 is excellent; and the estimated yield, about 120 pounds 

 of fermented pods per acre. At this rate, the money 

 value of the crop should be about $100 per acre. There 

 are large tracts of land which could be devoted to vanilla, 

 particularly in the Kona district of Hawaii. 



• PAPAYA. 



The papaya is the universal breakfast fruit of the 

 majority of the inhabitants of Hawaii. The trees are 

 found in every dooryard on all the islands. It would 

 seem at first thought, therefore, that everyone's table 

 must be supplied from his own yard, and that there 

 would be commercial market for this fruit. Nevertheless, 

 good profits are being made from the commercial cultiva- 

 tion of papaya. In regular orchards, they should be 

 planted about eight feet apart each way, in well drained 

 and cultivated soils, where an average rainfall may be 

 expected, or where irrigation can be practiced. The 

 papaya bears in about one year from the seed. The ap- 

 parent varieties are numerous, although few of* them 

 have been well established; and the seed does not breed 



