July, 1910.] 



The cost of opening up a 5-acre planta- 

 tion of Vanilla should not exceed £200, 

 as follows : — 



Land at £4 per acre ... £20 



Fencing, 30 chains, at 6s. per 



chain ... ... ... 9 



Brushing at 12s. per acre ... 8 

 Plants (at present scarce in 



Queensland), say ... ... 20 



Planting, at 20s. per acre. ... 5 



Tending till bearing, including 



pegs, supports, &c. — two 



years ... ... ... 108 



Drying houses, trays, &c. and 



sundries... ... ... 35 



Total ... ... £200 



This, however, does not necessarily 

 represent the capital necessary, espe- 

 cially in the case of a settler opening 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. 



Con clusion— Summary, 



Conditions necessary for Vanilla. 



Climate— Tropical humid ; rainfall, 60 

 to 100 in. or more, well distributed, but 

 with a well-defined dry season of two 

 or three months. Mean temperature, 

 about 75 degrees to 80 degrees Fahr. 



Soil, — Vegetable mould — i.e., ordinary 

 scrub soil of 6 in. or more on depth, 

 with, by preference, a well-drained 

 subsoil. 



Situation.— Gentle slope or fiat land, 

 well protected from wind ; avoid wet 

 hollows. 



Clearing.— Brushed scrub, leaving 250 

 trees or so per acre, not too dense 

 shade — i.e., so that some chequered sun- 

 light is obtained by the vines. 



Plants. -Cuttings 2 ft. to 4 ft. long. 



Planting.— On either side of each tree 

 trunk— i.e., about 500 per acre, about 

 December or January. 



Cultivation. — Pulling down climbing 

 vines above 6 ft, high from trees, and 

 draping over supports, about twice in 

 the season. Keeping roots mulched 

 where exposed. Pollinating flowers- 

 September to November. 



Harvesting.— Gather pods every two 

 or three days at least— July to Sep- 

 tember. 



Curing— Dipping, colouring, sweat- 

 ing, drying, and handling. Grading and 

 packing for market. 



Edible Products, 



Marketing.— Wholesale confectioners, 

 &c. Prices, 8s. to 16s. per lb. 



Returns— 100 to 120 per acre of 500 

 vines. 



Cost of Production.— Estimated cost of 

 opening 5-acre vanillery, £40 per acre, 

 including cost of land and labour, but 

 not living expenses, till bearing. Cost 

 of production estimated at not more 

 than 4s. per lb. marketable Vanilla. 



[Vanilla has had a somewhat che- 

 quered history in Ceylon, but the 

 chances of profitable cultivation are 

 once more worth consideration. Prices 

 are rising, and seem inclined to remain 

 higher than of late. — Ed.] 



CITRUS GROWING IN CUBA. 



By H. C. Hbnricksen, Habana. 



{Illustrated) 



Introduction. 

 Citrus fruits were undoubtedly intro- 

 duced into Cuba at an early date. 

 Some aver that they are indigenous, 

 but there is no historical foundation 

 for that assertion, and although all the 

 species are now found in the wild state 

 we must assume that they were brought 

 to the West Indies from the Mediter- 

 ranean countries by the early explorers. 



The different species represented by 

 the sour and sweet oranges, the kid- 

 glove or tangerine group, the lemon, 

 the citron, the shaddock and pomelo 

 have all been grown here for gener- 

 ations, but practically no effort was made 

 to cultivate any of them until after 

 the year 1898. 



Citrus culture as an industry, properly 

 speaking, was started by Americans 

 who brought with them, not alone some 

 experience from Florida and California, 

 but also the improved varieties from 

 there as well as unbounded faith and 

 enthusiasm, which seems to be of no 

 less importance for the success of the 

 undertaking. 



The present area planted amounts to 

 a good many thousand acres, and from 

 a cultural standpoint the industry is 

 a success. Much has been written during 

 the last year which would indicate that 

 citrus fruits cannot be produced profit- 

 ably here, and export statistics have 

 been cited to show that as a matter 

 of fact very little fruit is produced at 

 present. Those figures do not, however, 

 show the true status of orange pro- 

 duction, because the fact that an enor- 

 mous amount of fruit is being consumed 



