n VANILLA 61 



Brought forward . . . : 32 



Plants, say. . . . . , 20 



Planting at 20s. an acre . . . . 500 



Tending till bearing for two years, including 



supports, etc. . . . . . 108 



Drying-house trays, sundries . . . 35 



Total . . 200 



This, however, he points out does not necessarily 

 represent the capital necessary, especially in a case of 

 a settler opening up a vanilla plantation as an auxiliary 

 crop on his already running farm. In this case, allowing 

 that he himself tended the plants till bearing, the outlay 

 would be confined to brushing the scrub, cost of plants, 

 and planting. 



The estimate is high on account of the higher cost 

 of white labour than black, and on account of the high 

 price of vanilla plants in Queensland at the time. If 

 there were a demand among planters for stock, a 

 Government Botanic Gardens should be able to supply 

 them at two or three pence a piece. In another part 

 of the tropics, where labour is much cheaper, the cost 

 could be very materially reduced. 



He gives the profit as follows : " Scrub brushed so 

 as to leave 250 trees to the acre, and two vines to each 

 tree, and producing on an average twenty-five to thirty 

 pods per vine, which in turn on curing, average, say, 

 125 to the lb., would give a return of 100 to 125 Ib. 

 of marketable vanilla to the acre, which at an average 

 of 10s. a lb. represents 50 to 60 an acre. These 

 figures, shown to be readily attainable by the experi- 

 mental plot at Kamerunga, might possibly be exceeded 

 by devoting more detailed attention to the plantation." 



The profit per acre is given in the Seychelles at 

 250, and in Tahiti at 120 or so. 



Of course, where support-trees have to be planted or 

 trellises made and kept up, these expenses would have 

 to be reckoned, and there are the costs of preparing, 

 packing, and shipping to be added ; still with all these 

 there remains a very substantial profit even under 



