Sept,  i,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
179 
though  supplied  with  a very  large  acreage,  also 
works  up  considerable  quantities  of  green  leaf  from 
small  growers.  As  much  as  500,0001b.  were  manu- 
factured in  one  year  at  Thearsney,  The  mill  has 
since  been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  is  at  present 
undergoing/epairs. 
Is  THE  Caiic^asian  1’i.ayi;i)  Out? — Whether  the 
Caucasian  is  “played  out”  or  not  his  operations 
in  tea  cultivation  are  likely  to  achieve  that  proud 
position.  According  to  news  from  Odessa  the  great 
expectations  formed  as  to  tea  cultivation  in  the 
Caucasus  are  not  likely  to  be  realised.  A report 
from  Batoum  states  that  the  Minister  of  Domains 
does  not  feel  inclined  to  continue  the  Government 
subsidies  to  the  planters  along  (he  Caucasian  coast, 
as  the  results  of  their  efforts  have  hitherto  not 
been  satisfactory  enough  to  warrant  any  further  ex- 
penditure on  their  behalf.  Neither  the  quality  nor 
flavour  of  the  tea  grown  in  this  region  is  satisfac- 
tory, and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  one  or 
two  planters  have  imported  skilled  Chinese  growers 
to  take  the  oversight  of  the  harvesting  and  drying 
operations.  As  the  Chinese  methods  of  drying  are, 
to  say  the  least,  antiquated,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
they  have  failed  to  teach  the  Caucasian  planters 
much. — II,  and  C Mail,  .July  2d. 
^ 
CULTIVATION  OF  VANILLA  IN  MEXICO. 
The  following  information  on  Vanilla  is  taken  from 
Sir  Henry  Dering’s  report  on  the  productions  of 
Mexico,  already  referred  to : — Vanilla  is  found  grow- 
ing wild  in  many  disti  lets  of  Mexico,  and  it  is  culti- 
vated in  Michoacan,  Puebla,  Oaxaca,  Tabasco,  Vera 
Cruz,  and  other  places.  There  are  six  varieties  of 
vanilla  known  in  Mexico,  namely  the  “ mansa,”  the 
“ cimarrona,”  the  “ mestiza,”  the  “ pompona,”  the 
“ puerco,”  and  the  “ mono.”  Of  these  the  mansa 
and  the  pompona  are  cultivated.  A rich  vegetable 
soil,  such  as  is  found  in  the  dense  forests  of  the 
Tierra  Caliente,  is  best  for  vanilla  cultivation  and 
growth,  and  in  such  localities  the  vine  grows  luxuri- 
antly, and  gives  a large  pod.  The  mouths  of  .Tune 
and  July  are  considered  in  Vera  Ciuz  and  Tobasco 
as  most  appropriate  for  planting,  and  the  plants  will 
commence  to  flower  in  the  second  year  after  planting, 
and  full  crops  may  be  expected  between  the  third 
and  fourth  year.  The  Towers  appear  in  March, 
April,  or  May  in  clusters  of  20  to  50.  The  fruits  goes 
on  growing  lor  a month,  but  it  will  take  at  least 
eight  months  longer  to  ripen  sufficiently  for  harvest- 
ing. The  proper  time  for  the  ripening  of  the  vanilla 
in  the  districts  of  Tuxpan,  Mfsantla,  and  Papantla  is 
in  the  mouth  of  January,  February,  and  March. 
The  bean,  if  allowed  the  necessary  time  to  ripen 
properly,  is  black  and  juicy,  and,  when  well  prepared, 
will  keep  good  for  many  years,  but,  if  gathered  before 
maturity,  is  bound  to  be  defective.  After  the  beans 
are  gathered,  they  are  plunged  for  half  a minute  into 
hot  water  that  is  almost  boiling.  They  are  then  put 
on  mats  to  drain  dry,  and  afterwards  are  spread  out 
on  blankets  and  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  in  the  even- 
ing they  are  shut  up  in  tight  boxes  to  ferment.  The 
box  in  which  the  vanilla  is  to  be  sweated  must  be 
ut  in  the  sun  during  the  day  to  warm  it  and  it  must 
e big  enough  to  hold  all  the  vanilla  that  has  been 
spread  out.  The  sunning  process  is  continued  for  a 
week,  or  until  the  pods  become  brown  and  pliable, 
when  they  are  squeezed  between  the  fingers,  to 
straighten  them,  and  to  cause  the  seeds  and  oily 
substance  inside  to  be  evenly  distributed.  After  the 
operator  is  satisfied  with  his  w'ork  of  sweating,  the 
vanilla  beans  are  then  separated  into  sizes  of  length, 
thickness,  colour,  and  appearance.  The  Mexican 
vanilla  dealers  have  established  five  glades,  namely  : 
— First,  vanilla  “ fina  ” or  “legal,”  the  beans  or 
pods  from  inches  long  or  upwards,  short  in  the 
neck,  sound  and  black ; the  beans  wffiich  become 
split,  or  open,  provided  they  have  the  foregoing 
qualities,  and  the  split  does  not  extend  more  than 
a third  of  the  pod.  This  class  is  again  subdivided 
into  “ terciada,”  which  is  composed  of  the  shortest 
pods  ; “ primera  chica,”  “ primera  grande,”  “ marca 
menor,”  and  “ marco  mayor,”  the  largest  of  all. 
Second,  vanilla  “ chica,”  those  pods  which  differ 
only  from  the  terciada,  in  being  shorter,  two  of  them 
counting  as  one  of  the  first-class.  Third,  va,nijla 
“ zacate,”  the  pods  of  all  sizes,  which  are  off  colour 
through  being  gathered  before  iDceomiug  ripe  or  being 
over  cured,  “ pescozuda,”  “ vana,”  “ cueruda,”  and 
“ apoicoyonada,”  names  for  pods  in  a more  or  loss 
damaged  condition.  Fourth,  vanilla  “ cimarrona,” 
the  wild  vanilla,  in  good  or  fair  condition,  three  pods 
counting  as  one  of  the  first-class.  Fifth,  the 
“ rezacate,”  composed  of  the  very  short  pods,  of 
those  split  clear  up  to  the  stalk,  of  the  badly  damaged, 
of  the  very  immature,  and  of  the  very  much  over- 
cured. After  the  sizing  and  classification  is  finished, 
the  pods  are  tied  up  in  bunches  of  100  to  150,  so 
as  to  weigh  one  pound,  and  wrapped  up  in  paper  and 
tinfoil.  Statistics  show  that  there  is  more  vanilla 
exported  from  the  port  of  Taxpan  than  from  any 
other  port  in  the  world,  thus  establishing  the  fact 
that  the  Tuxpau  valley  is  the  natural  home  of  this 
valuable  orchid.  As  much  as  300  per  cent,  profit 
has  been  made  in  good  years  by  those  engaged  in 
the  vanilla  industry  in  }d.Q\\co.— Journal  of  the  Soeicli/ 
o/ . I r/s,  July  17. 
— ■ ♦ 
LONDON  TEA  LETTER. 
(FUOM  OUB  OWN  CORRESPONDENT.) 
10th  July,  1896. 
L.  M.  B. 
In  regard  to  the  Land  Mortgage  Bank  a special  meet- 
ing of  the  shareholders  was  held  last  week  to  consider 
the  offer  of  £366,000  odd  made  by  Sir  John  Muir,  Bart., 
and  Mr.  P.  R.  Buchanan  for  the  properties  of  the  Bank. 
This  offer  the  Board  of  Directors  had  recommended 
the  acceptance  of  by,  or  rather  had  actually  accepted 
subject  to  the  approval  of,  the  shareholders.  The 
Chairman,  Mr.  It.  J.  Boyson,  informed  the  meeting 
that  the  offer  he  confidently  believed  would  enable 
the  Company  to  liquidate,  pay  off  all  liabilities,  and 
distribute  £1  per  share  (or  at  the  least  not  less  than 
19s  6d)  to  the  shareholders.  Some  discussion  fol- 
lowed, in  which  it  was  as  a matter  of  course  made 
doubly  plain  that  the  ,£1  or  thereabouts  per  share  would 
be  all  the  shareholders  would  receive,  that  though 
shares  had  been  bought  at  a premium,  as  they 
had  been  by  many,  the  £2  par'd,  or  no  portion 
of  it,  would  be  refunded  in  addition  to  the  .£1  esti- 
mated ; and  it  was  also  extracted  that  under  the 
conditions  of  the  offer  made  by  Sir  John  Muir, 
the  present  shareholders  of  the  Bank  would  have 
the  privilege  or  option  of  an  allotment  of  an  equal 
amount  in  any  company  formed  with  the  gardens  of 
the  Bank,  or  in  any  company  of  whose  holding  these 
estates  might  go  to  form  part.  The  resolution  anprov- 
ing  of  the  sale  of  the  estates  was  passed  without  any 
opposition  or  dissent,  and  now  only  remains  to  be 
confirmed  at  another  special  meeting  (to  be  called  for 
on  the  21st  instant),  as  will  doubtless  be  done.  There 
was  some  grumblers  among  those  in  the  meeting  who 
had  purchased  their  shares  at  a premium.  But  upon 
the  whoM  the  arrangement  is  a very  satisfactory  one 
for  the  shareholders.  The  Company,  though  called  a 
Bank,  has  long  been  nothing  more  or  less  than  a 
large  and  unwieldy  tea  company  with  a Debenture 
Debt  (though  judiciously  reduced  within  the  last 
twenty  years)  still  much  larger  than  is  paid  up 
CB'pital.  There  also  remained  the  heavy  liability 
on  the  shares,  .£18  being  unpaid  and  lia'ble  to  be 
called  up.  About  twenty-five  years  ago,  or  even 
less,  there  was  a considerable  section  of  the  share- 
holders who  wished  to  see  the  Company  wound  up 
and  they  themselves  freed  from  this  liability.  Had 
this  been  done  then,  doubtless  there  would  have 
been  a considerable  call  per  share  to  enable  the 
liquidation  to  be  carried  through,  instead  of  any 
return  of  capital  afterwards.  Through  good  report 
and  bad  report  Mr.  Boyson  continued  sanguine,  and 
he  has  to  be  congratulated,  and  the  shareholders 
are  greatly  indebted  to  him  for  his  persistency  and 
courage.  Of  course  Mr.  Boyson  has  been  a lucky  mani 
The  mainstay  of  the  Bank  was  tea,  and  the  fall 
in  e^han^e  and  the  present  boom  in  tea  investments 
ha3  vFQUght  about  a revolution,  that  the  most 
