117 



be hooked on to some other fixed part of the vine, and in a few days, 

 unless blown loose, the tendrils will have fastened to the leaf, and thus - 

 support the plant. Shoots must not be allowed to climb very high 

 among branches of the supporting tree, especially if theie be many and 

 close together, or there will be breakages in getting them do wn. For 

 this purpose, when they get beyond hand reach, a fork stick 6 or 7 feet 

 long is useful. The fork is worked between the tree and climbing vine, 

 and its tendrils in succession are broken by pushing and twisting the 

 stick when they are within the fork. The last two or three tendrils 

 are easily broken or leave the tree without breaking, and care should 

 be taken when the vine is nearly clear to catch the stem of it high up, 

 within the stick's fork; it can then be lowered gently without fear of 

 breaking. 



Some judgment is necessary in selecting the fork of the tree through 

 which each shoot is to hang, a fork whose height fits in with a natural 

 bend of the vine, if it has one, being chosen; otherwise one whose 

 height takes the vine between joints is best, since if bent at a joint the 

 vine is apt to snap, especially so when vigorous growth, being then 

 full of sap and brittle. In good growing weather — i. e., warm, still, 

 and moist — healthy, well-nourished vanilla vines grow very rapidly, an 

 inch per day being no uncommon rate. 



PREPARING THE VINES FOR CROPPING. 



If the plants have done well they should be ready for such prepara- 

 tion in about eighteen months, more or less, according to the season. 

 Formerly in this colony they were allowed to grow on until a spell of 

 dry weather set in prior to the usual blossoming time. The growing 

 ends were then cut off and all new shoots removed as they showed till 

 flowers began to come or till the season for them was past. TVhen the 

 dry spell proved a long one, this seemed to answer pretty well; and 

 indeed, under these circumstances flowers would come in any case, 

 whether growth was checked or not. But now it is more usual to stop 

 the growing ends some nine or ten months, in the first instance, before 

 flowering time. In the majority of cases the terminal bud will push 

 and this new shoot should also be removed when 5 or 6 inches long- 

 not earlier, else the next to the last bud is apt to grow. 



After the second checking most vines will shoot, far enough back to 

 .allow of the shoots being left These grow on for the next year, and 

 the stopped branches hang down with their lower ends a g )od foot or 

 more from the ground, being generally from 4 to 6 feet in length, ac- 

 cording to the heights of the forks through which they are hung and 

 the positions of the new shoots, though these generally spring just be- 

 fore the last bends of the checked br inches, which are to be the cropping 

 parts. The new growths behind these are supposed to drain them of 

 their sap, and thus conduce to flowering. However that may be, these 

 checked hanging branches have certainly more tendency to flower than 

 other parts of the vines. Flowers take some six weeks to develop from 

 the moment they burst through the buds to their time of opening, but 

 this period varies in length with the weather, continuous dryness 

 retarding and moderate showers hastening their development when 

 once started 



The growing branches of vines should now be checked again for the 

 iollowing year's crop. These will be less troublesome in putting out 



