204 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



Cultivation 

 by small 

 proprietors. 



Reunion, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Java, and Tahiti in 

 Polynesia, but a considerable portion of the vanilla of com- 

 merce is gathered from wild plants found growing in the 

 forests of Mexico. In Guadeloupe, Reunion and Mauritius 

 the plant is cultivated by small proprietors, and many of the 

 householders in these islands make money by selling the 

 pods grown on vines cultivated in their gardens, and on the 

 walls of their houses. 



The best 

 soil. 



Drainage 

 necessary. 



Climate. 



Cuttings. 



should be 

 long. 



Soil and Climate. — A rich vegetable soil, such as is 

 found in the dense forests of the tropics, is the best for the 

 vanilla. Sands are too light, and clays are either too dry in 

 hot weather, or too wet in the rainy season. An undrained, 

 water-logged soil will cause the roots to rot, and it is, there- 

 fore, quite unsuited to the cultivation of the orchid. The 

 climate should be hot and moist, and sheltered situations are 

 indispensable, but the plants must not be too much shaded 

 or the fruits will not ripen. 



Propagation.— The plants are raised from cuttings, and 

 it is not necessary to set them in nursery beds to strike root. 

 Cuttings four or five feet long are planted at the foot of trees 

 or other supports used for the vine to grow on ; and if the 

 weather be favourable, they will soon take root. The cut- 

 tings may be got from any part of the vine ; and, in cases 

 where it is impossible to obtain a sufficient number of long 

 cuttings, shorter ones may be employed, but the plants will 

 sooner come into bearing if the cuttings be the proper 

 length. 



Supports for 

 the vine. 



Cultivation.— The vanilla vine, as we have seen, requires 

 a support to grow upon, and as the fertilisation of the flowers 

 will have to be done artificially, it will be necessary for the 

 plant to be trained so as to bring the flowers within reach 

 of the hand. When the cultivation is carried on in gardens, 

 stone walls, trees, or wooden trellis work can be utilised for 

 supports ; but, in cases wh»re the plants are grown on a 



