4 



recommended for Hawaii: Spondias luiea, (Hog plum); Erythrina 

 lifhosperma, (Coral tree) : Crescentia, (Calabash tree) ; BauMnia tomen- 

 tosa, (St. Thomas' tree), together with the small trees which have 

 been left standing, provided they are nearly in line. All others should 

 be cut out unless wanted for wind-breaks or shade. 



Choice of cuttings. The method of propagation is by cuttings. 

 The shipment of plants is made during the dry season, when growth 

 has been checked. The plants are pulled up from the ground and the 

 roots are freed from soil. The plants may be wrapped in paper or 

 packed in moss. A part of the plantation should be reserved for a 

 nursery, in Which the plants are left to grow vigorously, without ex- 

 hausting them by fructification. This is the best method to obtain 

 strong cuttings, to prevent the plants from degenerating and to guard 

 against diseases. Only those parts of the plants should be used for 

 cuttings that have short joints, as such cuttings will form most roots 

 on a given length. Cuttings giving the best results are obtained from 

 laterals. The joints are short and the terminal bud continues grow- 

 ing. Cuttings of from 3 to 6 joints may be used. Long cuttings 

 may produce flowers 18 months after planting, while with short 

 cuttings abundant flowers cannot be expected before the third year. 



Planting. The best time to set out the cuttings is probably the 

 early autumn, but it may be done at any time of the year. The 

 longer the cutting the more should be put in the ground. One joint 

 when the cutting has three, two when four, and even four or 

 five when long cuttings are used. The leaves should be cut from that 

 part of the cutting put into the ground, care being taken not to injure 

 the aerial roots. Cuttings should be placed horizontally and buried 3 

 inches deep. The exposed end is fastened so that the aerial roots are 

 close to the bark of the supporting tree. The fastener may be raphia 

 or any other band. No string should be used. Should dry weather 

 follow the planting, it would be advisable to water the plants. In Mex- 

 ico cuttings 2 feet 6 inches long are made eight days before planting. 

 Some planters use cuttings 3 feet 6 inches long, bury l foot 1 inch deep 

 and cover with leaves and grass. Covering is necessary during dry, 

 warm weather to protect the rootlets, which are close to the sur- 

 face and would be killed by the sun. 



Cultivation. The trees used as supports should be pruned in the 

 late fall. Vanilla requires some sunshine, and when growing in shaded 

 places, bears but few flowers and the fruit does not mature so well. 

 Tn sunny places, however, the vines suffer, because the surface of 

 the support may become so dry and overheated as to destroy the aerial 

 roots. Some cuttings, always remain dwarfed. These should be re- 

 placed as soon as practicable. The vine is allowed to grow 2 or 3 

 feet above the forked branches of its support. This upper portion 

 should be carefully separated and hung loosely over the forks of the 

 supporting tree, making pollination and harvesting possible without 

 the use of ladders. Branches from 2 to 4 feet long, inclining down- 

 wards, produce the most flowers. To encourage this growth, the 

 vines are pinched off near the end and thus a thick growth, completely 

 covering the branches of the tree, is obtained. The vanilla plant 

 begins to bear during the third year and continues until 7 or 8 years 

 old. When flowering and maturing fruit, the plants should have a 

 dressing of decomposed leaves, grass or banana leaves and trunks. 

 Stable manure should not be used, unless put into trenches, where the 

 roots will reach it when well decomposed. 



