48 



ripen ; whereas, on iho eontrary. when they an^ sufficiently exposed to 

 the sun they are fat, round, firm,und contain much more flavour. 



No plant; should be allowed to hear too freely, the quality and size 

 of the po'.is suffer thereby. The pruning out of pods should be perform- 

 ed after the fruit is fairly set, and should be projiorfcioned to the age and 

 health < f the creefior ; not more than five or six pods bein<!j allowed on 

 u siiio;l(3 ciuster. A plant of three or four years growth has hundreds 

 of blossoms thereon, but the qujiutiiy of pods taken from the same 

 should not be more than will yield half a pound of dried produce. 



Of course in its native place of growth, the method of propagating 

 by striking younii shoots of tlu-ee feet or so in length is the most rapid 

 method ; but stock could pro{)ably be reared from S3ed taken from pods 

 which have matured Daturnlly by being left on the plant ; such pods 

 split open and drop some of their seed. 



FECUNDATION OF THE FLOWER. 



in the flower of the vardlla t' e male organ ^ separated fr-om the 

 female organ by the light; membranous skin of the labellum (the upper 

 lip of the stio matic orifice), thus totally covering the female organ, and 

 as the anther rests on that valve of the stigma, it is evident that notwith- 

 standing the dehiscence of the anther,the orifice which allows passage of 

 the I'ollen is closed by the labellum, thus rendering spontaneous fecun- 

 dation comparatively rare. In Guiana, Mexico, and all other 

 countries where the plant is left to itself, it has been observed 

 that a length of 12 to 26 inches of vine will only produce one 

 pod, the number of flowers growing on such length of stalk being about 

 forty, all of which can be artificially iecundated. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in clusters in the axils of tho leaves. A plant in full health and 

 strength may produce as many as two hundred clusters at a time, each 

 cluster consisting of from fifteen to twenty flowers. A single plant 

 therefore, may bear three or four thousand flowers. The flowers in a 

 cluster expand one after the other, and only last a clay. By some cul- 

 tivators it is thought desirable not to fertilize more than two or three 

 flowers in each cluster, and to select for the operation the largest and 

 finest flowers ; these are generally to be found amongst those which are 

 the first to open. (Other cultivators fertilize five or six flowers.) If 

 this rule be observed, it will be found that the quality of the pods will 

 largely compensate for the quantity which might be obtained by fer- 

 tilizing a large number of flowers. 



The old process of performing the operation of artificial fecunda- 

 tion consisted in cutting the valve which is the obstacle to the natural 

 process, but this plan was not always successful ; and it was improved 

 upon by a Creole slave, who discovered that a more rapid and sure way- 

 was to lift up or tear away the valve from beneath the anther, and so 

 bring that organ in direct contact with the stigma. In this way it is 

 possible to obtain more than 3,500 pods on a single plant, but such a 

 demand on the plant would cause it to perish before the fruit could 

 mature ; therefore, as before observed, it is advisable to fecundate only 

 the finest flowers on each bunch, selecting those which present a large 

 fleshy peduncle. It is an ascerlained fact that the handsomest fruit are 

 produced from the first flowers, but the best fruit from the last flowers 



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