VANILLA 53 



The fruit is at first dark green and smooth, but 

 when it is ripe it becomes yellowish. In Vanilla 

 pompona, which is not liable to split, the pod is left 

 until it becomes quite distinctly yellow, or even until 

 the lower end becomes brownish. 



The pods of Vanilla planifolia have a tendency to 

 split in ripening, which, should it occur, reduces their 

 value as a commercial product. The pod cannot for this 

 reason be left to hang long on the plant, and is gathered 

 when it begins to turn yellow in the lower part, or even 

 when the line along the side becomes yellow. Care 

 must be taken, however, not to cut them too soon. 



During the ripening attention must be paid to the 

 position of the pods, to see that they hang straight down 

 and are not curved or bent. As the flowers appear one 

 by one on the raceme, the fruits will also ripen one by 

 one, so that those at the upper end of the hanging 

 bunch will be ripe long before those at the lower end 

 are ripe. 



A fully ripe pod of V. planifolia is a cylindric, 

 fleshy capsule about 5 or 6 in. long and J in. thick. 

 That of V. pompona is shorter and thicker. 



It is quite scentless, not developing its pleasant 

 scent till the fermentation produced in curing takes 

 place. During this process it passes from a yellow 

 colour to a dark chocolate brown tint, and as it dries 

 has a tendency to split more or less completely into two 

 valves, one of which is larger than the other, and is 

 grooved down the centre. 



The seeds are very numerous, minute, and black. 

 They are surrounded by a dark-coloured oil known as 

 balsam of vanilla. Those of the cultivated plants 

 (which it will be remembered are self -fertilised) are 

 usually sterile. 



Formerly many attempts were made to raise the 

 plant from seed in Bourbon and elsewhere, but without 

 success. Orchids are usually troublesome to raise from 

 seed, but probably the self-fertilisation of the flowers 

 in the cultivated plants was the cause of the failure. 



