VANILLA 51 



one flower to the stigma of another. This is the natural 

 method of fertilisation, but it takes a little longer time, 

 and there is certainly a risk of dropping the pollen or 

 having it accidentally brushed off during the transfer, 

 but it would probably produce larger and finer fruits. 



The operation is by no means so difficult as from 

 the above account it might appear to be. With a very 

 little practice it is easily and satisfactorily performed, 

 and I have found no difficulty in teaching natives to 

 perform it successfully. 



The planter should, however, examine the flowers 

 while the workmen are operating so as to make sure 

 that the pollen is being properly put into the stigma. 

 After successful fertilisation the flower quickly com- 

 mences to wither, and soon the petals and sepals fall off, 

 but the column remains attached to the top of the ovary, 

 which is below the petals, and so remains till the fruit 

 is nearly ripe. If the operation has failed and the 

 flower is not fertilised, the column falls off with the 

 petals. Macfarlane says that though flowers fertilised 

 after three o'clock (that is to say, when they have begun 

 to wither) will take, the column is apt to fall off earlier 

 than it should, and if so the fruit will be shorter and con- 

 sequently of less value. In heavy rain the pollen masses 

 become soft, and though the fruits may develop they 

 are not so large or fine, and the column soon drops off. 



This is quite intelligible, for when the pollen enters 

 the stigma it puts out the pollen. tubes, which, following 

 down the centre of the column, enter the ovules in the 

 ovary, and it is not till this has happened that the fruit 

 is fertilised, so that if the flower has begun to fade or 

 much of the pollen is spoilt by the rain, only a few of 

 the ovules may be fertilised, and this imperfect fertilisa- 

 tion would undoubtedly produce imperfectly developed 

 fruits. The ideal fertilisation would be the natural one 

 of fertilising one flower by another, as is always done in 

 nature, and the injury caused by imperfect fertilisation, 

 as above described, certainly suggests that cross- 

 fertilisation would give a higher standard of fruit. 



