42 THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [July 1, 1902. 
THE BANANA. 
A frnit that bas never yet come properly into its 
own is the banana. Such, at least, is the opinion of 
vegetarians, not a few of whom justify the faith that 
is in them by living altogether on banana products ; 
and even less heroic martyrs are beginning to think 
that the banana will prove the most persuasive weapon 
of conversion in the vegetarian armoury. Already 
there has appeared in the Midlands an enthusiast, 
just fresh from South America, with an uuheard-of 
collection of banana recipes ; and if all goes well with 
the propaganda, we may expect to be taking within a 
fewyears for breakfast plain bananas, banana pancakes, 
banana muffins, and banana coffee ; for lunch, banana 
fritters, banana bread, banana biscuits, and banana 
cake; and lor dinner, banana wafers, banana figs, and 
a small cup of banana coffee. Apropos of bananas, 
there is a costers' club in a quiet street off the Bdg ware- 
road which was formerly devoted to innocent recrea- 
tion. But the spirit of utilitarianism has prevailed 
over the desire for social enjoyment, and the premises 
have now become a forcing-house for West Indian 
banamas. The bananas are consigned direct to the 
club, thus saving the middlemen's profits, and every 
room is filled with great bunches of the fruit, ripening 
under gentle heat for the public palate. The mem- 
bers of the clnb can select their own bunches and 
pay for them as they sell them, so that an initial capital 
in not required. On a good day, with a cartload of these 
bananas, a coster can clear a nett profit of— but 
perhaps it will be more discreet to keep the figures 
dark. The coster's, like all other callings, already 
Buffers from overcrowding, — Daily Chronicle, May 16. 
VANILLA GROWING. 
BY A M'FARLANE, OF MOOREA, SOCIETY ISLANDS 
I have been for years a cultivator and curer of 
vanilla. 
The white planter in the tropicsj after he has been 
for some years subjected to the enervating effects of 
the climate, becomes averse to anything in the shape 
of labour more than is absolutely necessary for con- 
ducting whatever particular avocation his may be. 
So that the residents of a Northern clime have to 
depend upon the kind services of the 'globe-trotters ' 
for their information upon the various cultures ; and, 
owing partly to the short time which they are en- 
abled to devote to acquiring information, and often- 
to misleading statements made by planters intention- 
ally, sometimes this information is very incorrect. 
This stricture, however, does not refer to the article 
by Mr Cater, anfl I must compliment him upon the 
care which he has evidently displayed in his study 
of the vanilla. He has, however, made a few mis- 
takes ; and I thought it might perhaps interest your 
readers, were I to correct them and also describe 
the methods employed by us here in the South Sea 
Islands. 
Although Tahiti is one of the largest vanilla- 
producing countries, ranking second or tlnird, annually 
yielding nearly one hundred tons of the dried product, 
ours is nearly the worst vanilla that reaches the 
European markets, commanding only about half the 
price which is paid for vanilla produced in Reunion 
or Seychelles, or one-quarter of that paid for the 
best Mexican. However, to offset this advantage, we 
have the advantage of the finest tropical climate in 
the world — no hurricanes (Tahiti being outside of the 
' hurricane belt,' which only reaches the Earatonga 
or Cook Islands, six hundred miles to the west)j no 
malaria or fevers, no poisonous serpent, and but few 
noxious insects — and have a gentle, friendly race of 
natives to live among, 
We, have here in cultivation two varieties of vanilla : 
y. planifolia, grown only in very limited quantities, 
as, owing to the tendency of the bean to split when 
nearing maturity upon the vine, and afterwards during 
the process of curing, it does not appeal to the native, 
growe», and ihe variety in common cultivation, which 
B that kaown in Mexico asyow^cHf. Both varieties 
were originally brought here from Mexico. V. 
planifolia produces the true vanilla, while pompona 
yields what is known in Mexico as vanillon and 
in the London market as vanillos. f. pompona, 
althongh yielding such an inferior quality of fruit, 
has advantages which endear it to the Tahitiaa. The 
bean does not split ; it can be cured by simply ex- 
posing it to the sun, not requiriug to be dipped in 
hot water or subjected to a process of baking, as do 
the others; and it always gives two and sometimes 
three or foar crops of flowers during the year, while 
planifolia gives but one and that of short duration. 
Most of the Tahiti vaniiia is planted so as to 
climb upon the guava, which is about the worst tree 
that could possibly be obtained for the purpose as; 
the bark constantly peeling off causes the tendrils of 
the vanilla to lose their hold with it, and the vines 
have to be hung over any convenient branch to keep 
them from falling to the ground. The guava is an 
imported tree, but it has taken possession of large 
tracts of land ; and to make a vanilla plantation re- 
quires the minimum of labour, usually only the 
cutting out of a few guavas where they may be growing 
too thickly, and the planting of vanilla-vines at the 
roots of the remaining ones. Upon hillsides where 
the pici-ao (a species of Broussonetia) grows, the 
vanilla is at home. In fact, it is a mistake to plant 
it upon level land, as, althougti the vine revels in 
moisture, the roots are very impatient of water lying 
stagnant about them. The purao is, however, a rapid- 
growing tree, and considerable labour is required in 
pruning in order to keep it within bounds and prevent 
it from overshading the vanilla, too much shade 
being even worse than too little. 
The best situation for a vanilla plantation is on a 
hillside, perferably in a valley, not too near the sea; 
and the best system of planting, for one who can 
afford to wait, is to clear off all the trees which 
may be growing upon it, and to plant at regular 
intervals young trees or posts, of varieties which will 
grow from cuttings. In my experience the best is a 
small tree known locally as pini, a species of Bauhinia, 
and which will grow in two years to a height of 
from twelve to fifteen feet. The usual distance apart 
for the posts is six by eight feet. When these posts 
are in place, the vines are planted as Mr Cater says; 
only that we usually use cuttings of ten or twelve feet 
in length. When cuttings of this length are used a 
crop of beans is secured nine months or a year 
sooner than when short lengths are planted. We 
reckon on a small crop of cured beans eighteen 
months after planting, and a full crop in two years 
and a half. 
The flowers, which last but one day, open about 
7 a.m. and close about 3 p.m., and have to be polli- 
nated by hand during that time — that is, all those 
which open upon one day must be pollinated the 
same day. We use small, pointed sticks for this 
purpose ; the pollen, which is a small compact mass, 
being transferred more rapidly by#these than by any 
other method that has been tried. A very expert 
worker can pollinate three thousand flowers in one 
day, but most are Siitisfied with from fifteen hundred 
to two thousand. 
About nine months after the flowers appear, the 
beans become mature. This stage Is known by their 
changing in colour from a dark to a light-yellowish 
green, or by their becoming brown at the lower or 
flower end, when they must be picked and taken to 
the house to undergo the process of curing, which 
should occupy about three months. They can be 
cured in a shorter time, but always at a sacrifice of 
quality. This is the most important work of the 
vanilla-planter and entails constant care, as afew days' 
neglect may spoil the whole crop. This, I think, partly 
explains why Tahiti vanilla baa such a bad name in the 
markets of the world. Moat of the native planters cure 
their own crop, but they will not give the necessary at- 
tention to this work. Tbere is no secret about the 
method of curing, although some pretend that there is. 
It oousiat in aHemate exposures to the suuy always un- 
