48 SPICES 



CHA.P. 



In no case, however, should all or nearly all of the 

 flowers be fertilised ; opinions vary as to how many 

 should be fertilised on each raceme, but it is generally 

 agreed that some of the terminal flowers should be 

 removed. 



In some cases ten fruits may be allowed to ripen on 

 each raceme ; in the case of weaker plants two or three 

 are quite enough. Macfarlane, in dealing with Vanilla, 

 pompona, would fertilise from 8 to 15 flowers on each 

 raceme, and later removing the shorter beans, would 

 reduce the number from 6 to 12, fertilising one-fifth 

 more flowers than he intended to keep. 



Vanilla planifolia should have fewer developing 

 fruits kept than V. pompona. 



If the price is highest for the longest fruits, as indeed 

 it usually is, it is recommended to reduce the number of 

 flowers to be fertilised to fewer, and so get a smaller 

 number of large first-class fruits in preference to a larger 

 number of smaller ones. 



In order to prevent the plants from being soon worn 

 out by over-production, Delteil recommends that the 

 plantation should be divided into four equal portions, 

 and that only one of these should be fertilised each 

 year. Thus at the end of four years from the time 

 that the plants commence to flower the whole vanillery 

 will have undergone fertilisation once only and, thanks 

 to this prudent method, the plants which have had a 

 rest of three years between each crop will last a very 

 long time and will not be worn out in a few years. 

 Thus the planter, though he gets a smaller return at first, 

 will be certain of seeing his crops constant for many 

 years without the necessity of replanting. 



The flowers remain open for one day only, so that if 

 there is a heavy bloom on the plants extra labour will 

 be required during the flowering season. Women and 

 children are generally employed for the work of fertilising 

 the flowers, as they are quicker and more skilful with 

 their fingers than men. 



The flowers open one by one on the raceme each day, 



