VANILLA 31 



slope seems as convenient a place for the plant as any- 

 where, so long as it is not too dry. Macfarlane's advice 

 is to eschew level ground, and select a piece with a 

 moderate slope, this being easier to work, for vanilla 

 does not care how steep the slope may be, but the 

 workman does. 



Mr. Howard Newport, in the Queensland Agricultural 

 Journal, April 1910, p. 184, points out strongly the 

 advantages possessed by the Queensland forest for 

 growing vanilla, and illustrates this by photographs. 

 The trees in this form of forest grow regularly and 

 evenly, and by clearing out any undergrowth and un- 

 necessary trees there remains a series of trees which can 

 be connected with bars or poles on which the vanilla 

 can be grown. 



There is enough and not too much shade in this 

 forest, and the soil is rich in humus and the site seems 

 an ideal one, requiring but little labour to make it 

 perfect. In the ordinary tropical forest the trees are 

 of all sizes, and so irregular in growth that it would be 

 very troublesome to clear the undergrowth so that the 

 trees could be connected by trellises or poles in a con- 

 venient way. So readily adapted a woodland as the 

 Australian bush appears to be, is rarely found. 



Trees for Supports. Where there are already 

 suitably branched trees on the ground, or trees that by 

 topping and pruning can be utilised, it is best to use 

 these, supplementing them where necessary by posts, 

 trellises, or additional planted trees. 



A considerable variety of trees have been recom- 

 mended as suitable for supports of vanilla, but as what 

 is most suitable in one country may not be adapted 

 for another, the selection must depend to a large 

 extent on local conditions. The ideal tree is a fairly 

 fast grower, which is sufficiently strong to support the 

 weight of the plant without breaking down, and which 

 branches regularly and fairly low down, and does not 

 give too dense or thick a shade, so as to interfere with 

 the growth of the vine. One which grows from large- 



