19 
Since March is the month hi which the greatest number of plants 
begin to blossom and since the blossoming period for a single plant 
may extend over a couple of months, plantings in the vicinity of 
Mayaguez will need labor for pollination chiefly in March and April 
but possibly for a longer period. 
The following table gives the record of the blossoming performance 
of eight typical clusters on a single plant, not the entire blossoming 
of that plant: 
Blossoming record of eight clusters of vanilla blossoms. 1 
Cluster- 
No. 1. Xo. 2. Xo. 3. Xo. 4. Xo. 5. Xo. 6. \ Xo. 7. Xo. S. 
Mar. 24 
• x ! 
Mar. 25 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 23 
Apr. 24 
Apr.25 
Apr.26 
Apr.27 
Apr. 28 
Apr.29 
Apr. 30 
Number of days on which blossoms 
opened 
Number of intervening days on which 
no blossoms opened 
Number of days between the opening 
of the first and final blossom 
x 
X 
X 
X X 
X 
XX X 
X X 
X X 
X 
X X 
1 x represents a blossom. 
The above record is no way extraordinary, as clusters could have 
been selected which in both number of blossoms and time covered 
considerably exceeded any given here. These clusters averaged 14 
blossoms each, opening in 13.6 days, with 10.9 days on which no 
blossoms opened intervening between the opening of the first and the 
final blossom for the average cluster, a period of 24.5 days. The 
erratic maimer of blossoming is shown by a cluster opening two bios- 
