g6 APPENDIX. 



must be planted ; and now arises the question, what will grow quickest in order that 

 the Vanilla may be planted as soon as possible ? The plants most commonly used 

 for this purpose in Mauritius are the Li/ns de l Tude of the Creoles, Melia 

 Azadanch, and Tecoma LeiiuKxy/o)!, and are planted 8 feet apart, as permanent 

 plants, but when these are only a few inches high when planted it is evident that a 

 period of at least three years must elapse before any considerable amount of shade 

 can be expected from them, and this would delay the planting of the Vanilla an 

 equal length of time had not the planters access to another plant, the Figfion de 

 I Tude of the Creoles (Tatropha curcus), which is of extremely rapid growth, but 

 of no permanent nature ; it is easily increased by cuttings of the branches, which 

 are generally cut in lengths of 2 feet, and planted, 18 inches apart, in line with the 

 Lila and Tecoma plants previously mentioned, and as they will very soon produce 

 leaves, some growers plant the Vanilla at the same time, and train it under the 

 shade of Pignon de fTude. 



It is better to wait until the Fig/ion de I'Tude be sufficiently strong to allow of 

 the trellis work being erected. ^Vhere dead palm-leaves are plentiful some 

 growers screen the whole plantation at the first outset, and plant the Vanilla at 

 once, but it is not often that leaves are to be had in sufficient quantity to allow of 

 this being done, and, again, it is ten to one if the first strong wind does not destroy 

 the whole construction. 



PLANTING. 



The usual method of planting Vanilla is by cuttings of the stems of strong, 

 healthy plants, and if cut in lengths of 3 feet, they will generally produce fruit 18 

 months after planting. Plantations are generally made during the months of 

 October and November, in Mauritius, or at the commencement of the hot season, 

 when the sap, after a season of comparative rest, is being stimulated by the 

 increasing heat into renewed action. As the rapidity of growth greatly depends on 

 the number of roots, care must be taken that three joints (nodes) of the cutting be 

 placed on the ground, in an oblique direction, and from these joints a plentiful 

 supply of roots will be given out, which must be treated as hereafter stated. 



TRAINING, OR ARTIFICIAL SUPPORT. 

 The rapidity with which the Vanilla plant grows when its routs have free 

 action in a suitable soil is really amazing ; there is therefore no question that, if 



