II 
VANILLA 
29 
although the rainfall was above the average, it was 
coincident with a calamitous drought which extended 
from the middle of February to the end of October, and 
caused a great agricultural disturbance. Similarly, in 
1905, many parts of the islands were without any 
substantial rainfall between June and October, and 
everywhere the crops were damaged by the intense 
sun-heat and the absence of regular showers. Two 
droughts in two successive years had the effect of 
checking the flowering of the coco-nuts and the vanilla. 
In the latter case the almost entire failure of the 
flowering season reduced the crop of vanilla in 1906 to 
one-third of that of a normal year. 
These figures give an approximate idea of the 
requirements of the vanilla as regards climate. As in 
the case of many other crops, regularity of climate 
counts for more than the actual humidity and tempera- 
ture within certain limits. 
Soil . — The soil which the plant requires in order 
to thrive is one rich in humus, light and friable. Stiff 
clay soils, which dry rapidly, and wet water-logged 
ground is not at all suited to the growth of the plant. 
Vanilla is a forest-loving plant, and, like all such plants, 
requires a rich soil of decaying leaves and partial shade 
in order to thrive. 
Galbraith describes the soil of the Seychelles as 
follows : “ There are three sorts of soil here, (l) Eich 
vegetable mould, in forest and valley bottoms ; for a 
quick growth this is excellent. (2) Greasy red clay in 
fair quantity ; in this vanilla makes good growth. (3) 
Coarse quartz sand or gravel ; this is best of all, as 
giving good drainage. In wet years plants are more 
likely to crop than in other soils.'' 
It must be remembered that in most of the islands 
of the Seychelles a considerable amount of guano is 
mixed with the soil, which is therefore rich in lime, 
nitrogen, and phosphoric acid, so that probably the coarse 
quartz sand was richer in the salts required by the plant 
than a similar looking soil would be in other countries. 
