July 1, 1900.1 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
63 
little piece of bamboo cut into the shape of a tooth- 
pick: in fact, I have done the fertilization with this 
last named article and it answered admirably. 
The anatomy of the Vanilla fl wer is somewhat 
different from the general run of oUier Orchid flowers. 
At the extremity of the gynostemiiini ihtre is a little 
cap covering the pollen ; the first operation is thus 
to lift this cap and carefully take the pollen masses 
out on the end of the toothpick. Benea'h this fiist 
veceptable ia another little lip coverin;^ the stigma ; 
under this lip will be found the stigma covered with 
a sticky liquid. The second operation consist.s in 
lifting this lip with the very point of the toothpick, 
holding already the pollen ; then, when the stigma is 
ftiUy exposed, by a gentle twist apply the pollen on 
to it. When one has repeated this operation systema- 
tically a few times, it is really wonderful how quickly 
one can perform it- The setmenls of the llnwer.-i 
should be drawn well back so as to facilitate the 
operation, and held witli the left hand together with 
the ovary ; the operation of applying the pollen 
should be performed with thd right, at the same 
time join the tips of the little fingers to steady both 
hands. 
The pollen adheres very firmly to the stigma, 
and when once properly applieil, there is liitle 
chance of its falling off. After the operation 
of fertilizing has been attended to, very little 
remains to be done. Nature then takes the 
matter in hand, and one has but patiently to 
wait the further development. The first sign by 
which one can detect whether the flower has set to 
fruit, is the way in which the segments stick to the 
top of the ovary. If not successful after a day, per- 
haps, a couple of days, these segments drop, leaving 
only the ovary, which soon drops in its turn. The 
pods after the first two or three weeks gcow very 
steadily and attain their full size about the beginning 
of November. Then they gradually begin to lose the 
bright green colour, and by December the nose of the 
pod tarns yellow first, then slightly brown ; this is the 
time to gather the pods. The pluokioE; of course 
must be done every day, for all pods do not ripen 
at the same time, and only those that part easily 
from the flower stem should be taken down. 
After the gathering comes the curing. Having only 
a limited number of pods, they were sundried, 
wrapped up in woollen doth, which I found answered 
Tery well. The pods developed a fine aroma and soon 
assumed that dark chocolate tint which I believe is 
recognized as very good. — A. .T. B. Gissei,eip>h, 
Superintendent, Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens, 
Calcutta. — Indian Gardening and Plantiny, 
June 7. 
FKUIT FABMING IN MYSORE. 
In ft recent official report, Mr. John Cameron com- 
mented on the backward condition of Fruit Culture 
in the Kadur district, remarking : — " With the ex- 
ception of orange trees, which are found on some 
estates, fruits are not abundant; nor did I observe 
any organi;ed attempt to grow this class of produce in 
quantity. Mr, Kirwao has in his fine garden at 
Santaveri a number of fruiting plants such as pine- 
apple, strawberry, peach, orange, hill-gooseberry and 
banana. But they are grown on a limited scale, and 
more to represent their class than with a view to 
economy." As. however, " most of the kinds were 
growing well," there is no apparent reason why fruit 
farming should not prove a very useful adjunct to 
coffee-planting in Kadur. The inimical factors are 
said to be (a) the length of the monsoon aeoomranied 
by dense fogs and much cloudy weather ; (h ) the pre- 
valence of fruit-eating birds, and (c) the pilfering 
habits of estate coolies. The first is a difficulty that 
may prove insurmountable in some places, but there 
are certainly remedies for (/*) And (c) ; and we do not 
believe lii.vt any planter eagerlv bent on pushing 
fruit cultivation would allow himself to be deterred 
from carrying out his plans by either feathered or 
human biped. The true difficulty appears to lie in 
fiudlBg a market. As things stand at present, there 
is not bulk enough to secure a minimum of transport 
expense, nor enterprise enough to set about mahinri a 
market. Referring to thi.s point, Mr. Cameron re- 
marks that fruit must either be preserved on the 
spot, or conveyed by rail to the cities on the plains. 
In this connectioi' it may be observed that, although 
there is at present no factory for the manufacture "of 
jams and preserves ou a large scale, one would prob- 
ably soon be forthcoming it a sufficient fruit supply 
could be assured at a convenient centre. Then, too 
there are Well-known metho is of drying fruit • while 
fruits such as oranges, apples, etc., are easily' trans- 
portable to even dnt^int places. 
The orange itself affjids perhaps the beat proof 
available of the genetnl indifference manifested with 
respect to the cultivation of fruit. In Kadur Mr 
Cameron only found one v.triety, the " Coorg loose- 
jacket." Good as this is, we are not surprised that 
Mr. Cameron should suggest the introduction of 
other good varieties, such as the Seville, Malta blood 
and St. Michael's. Variety would certainly give an 
impetus to demand, and moreover it is fairly certain 
that all the above variei;ies would not ripen at one 
time, so that the measure suggested might lenfffchea 
the "season" during which oranges are obtainable 
Mr. Cameron further recommends for cultivation in 
the drier parts of the hill zone (that is, the eastern 
and southern faces of the lower hills bavins a minfoii 
of 45 to 80):— ^ '^aimaU 
Apple Dwarf bushes or maidens imported 
from California, Italy and Japan 
ir'each Ditto from Florida, Italy and Janan 
Plum From Malta and Japan. * 
Pear From California, Prance and Italv 
Mulberry Prom Japm and China. 
Pineapple From Ceylon and Singapore. 
Pig From Southern Europe and TurlrAir 
Easpberry Best English. -LurKey. 
Strawberry Ditto. 
He remarks that raspberrie.s and mulberries would 
stand a good deal of rain and cloudy weather • bat in 
regard to fruit culture generally he considers that 
operations should be confined to the drier parts of tha 
district, where there i? elevation, in addition to shelter 
and means of iriigaiion. Many positions of this class 
would possibly be found on the lower slopes of 
tbe Baba Budans facing towards the east and 
south; but more particularly amongst the smaller 
hills dwindling down i ; the same direction to th« 
plains. Except for oranges of sorts, the western 
portion of the district is too wet and gloomv during 
several months of tha year. In addition to the exntir 
plants already recuinmeuded, the followin-r nnvplti«« 
are mentioned for trial :— " uoveiues 
, •• Briobotria japonica 
Sapodillaplum .. Achras sapota 
Litchi . . Nephelium litchi 
AUigator pear . . Persia gratissima 
TT /r'''"?' 1, •• ^''''''^ Papaya. 
He did not observe any spot sufiSciently tronical anfl 
sheltered, as at Burliar on the Nilgiri ghat f * 
cultivation of the Durian and Mangoste^er. Neither 
are there suitable localities for the fruits uf^nM 
temperate climates, such as cherry, gooseberry cnr- 
r&iQtf ©tc. • * 
As to conditions of cultivation, Mr. Cameron gives 
the following practical advice :—" A fruit criVrif! 
should be fully exposed to sunlight. The land fild 
be fairly good to start with and should be entirely 
free of roots from ad.iacent trees or crocs A «nffl 
cient water-supply must be available at a higher le^l 
or lu wells to irrigate the whole of the garden Land 
chosen for fruit culture should, in preference hT^t 
the calcareous class. It may be level throughout or 
terraced. Very steep land is undesirable, and in co?d 
situations a southern aspect is best. By efficient 
svstems of drainage, and the judicious application 
of suitable manures the land w ,uld soon improve°S 
quality But. must not be forgotten thatfruit oropsare 
exhaustive to the soil in proportion to their outturn and 
duration. Therefore, the richness of the soil has to be 
carefully maintained as long as the production of frn^t 
continues. The first operation, which consistg if 
