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sharpened wood ; secondly, by slipping the lamellune under 

 the anther ; and thirdly, by ensuring contact of the pollen 

 and stigma by gentle pressure between the fore-finger and 

 thumb. The operation is performed in a few seconds after a 

 little practice, and it may be facilitated by holding the column 

 between the thumb and middle finger of the left hand, whilst it 

 is supported at the back by the fore-finger ; the right hand is 

 then free to use the fertilising instrument, which should be 

 rather blunt and flattened at the end. A tooth broken from 

 an old comb and fixed into a piece of thin bamboo a few inches 

 in length may be used. 



736. If the fertilising operation proves successful, the 

 flower will gradually wither, whilst the pod will grow rapidly. 

 If unsuccessful, the flower will fall off before the second day, 

 and the ovary will remain undeveloped, turn yellow, shrivel 

 up, and drop off the stalk. The flowers come out in March 

 in clusters of from 10 to 20, but not more than half a dozen of 

 the cluster should be fertilised, and in this way fine large pods 

 will be secured. Fertilisation should commence at 9 or 10 

 o'clock in the morning, for if it be done too late pollination 

 may be incomplete, or fail altogether. The fruit goes on 

 growing for a month but it will take at least five months 

 longer to ripen sufficiently for harvesting. 



737. Harvesting. The pods are to be gathered when 

 they begin to turn yellow at their ends, or when they 

 produce a crackling sensation on being pressed lightly be- 

 tween the fingers. Each pod should be gathered separately 

 by being bent to one side, when it will come off the stem. It 

 is very important to gather the pods at the right time, for, if 

 they be too ripe, they will split open in curing, and if too 

 green, they are dried with difficulty, and they will have little 

 or no perfume. 



738. Curing. After the beans are gathered, they are 

 plunged for half a minute in hot, almost boiling, water. 

 They are then put on mats to drain dry, and afterwards 



GGG 



