II 
VANILLA 
75 
and later a good deal was grown in European planta- 
tions, notably near Dumbara, where a native gardener, 
from a small vanillery, obtained pods to the value of 
£100 to £150 per year. The plant was introduced 
about 1853, or probably earlier, and both Dr. Thwaites 
and Dr. Trimen strongly urged its cultivation. Samples 
to the amount of 64 lb. were sent home in 1866 from 
the Peradeniya Gardens. In 1884, eight packages, 
valued at 1245 rupees, were sent to England and 
Australia. 
In 1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
284 lb. valued at 3370 rupees 
333 „ 1715 „ 
1301 ,, 310 „ 
1300 „ 4710 „ 
The cultivation, however, has never been very 
extensive. 
Malay Peninsula. — Both Vanilla planifolia and 
V. pompona have been cultivated at the Botanic Gardens 
in Singapore, and good pods produced. The region, 
however, seems to be too wet for successful plantations. 
V. planifolia produces its fruit during the wettest 
part of the year, and when heavy rain-storms occur 
during the ripening period most of the pods fall. 
There have been no successful commercial plantations 
in Malaya. 
India. — Comparatively little seems ever to have 
been done in the cultivation of vanilla in India. Mr. 
A. J. B. Gisseleire, Superintendent of the Agri-Horti- 
cultural Society’s Gardens in Calcutta, in a paper 
quoted in Planting Opinion (June 16, 1900, p. 419), 
said that the cultivation of vanilla had been taken in 
hand more than once, but had never had a thorough 
trial. The experiment was not continued long enough, 
although it was shown that this plant grows and fruits 
in Bengal without any difficulty. “ The experiments 
in the Alipore Gardens have not been carried out 
on such an elaborate scale as was attempted in several 
places in Bengal some years ago ; in fact, the plants 
