346 
Commercial  Vanilla. 
j  Am,  Jour.  Pliarm. 
(      July,  1881. 
sap,  to  serve  as  supports  to  the  plants.  Close  to  each  tree  two  cuttings 
are  planted  side  by  side  in  a  shallow  trench  about  1|  inch  deep  and 
15  or  20  inches  long,  tliree  joints  of  the  cuttings,  after  the  removal  of 
the  leaves,  being  covered  up  with  dried  leaves,  leaf  mould,  coarse 
sand,  brush  wood,  etc.,  and  the  remainder  of  the  shoot,  3  or  four  feet 
long,  tied  to  the  tree.  The  bed  should  be  slightly  raised  above  the 
level  of  the  soil,  and  the  supporting  trees  should  be  quite  12  to  15 
feet  apart.  The  cuttings  will  have  taken  root  after  a  month,  must  be 
kept  free  from  weeds  and  underwood,  and  will  commence  to  bear  fruit 
in  the  third  year.  For  establishing  vanilla  plantations  in  a  field,  the 
land  is  thoroughly  ploughed,  and  sowed  with  maize ;  and,  while  this 
is  growing,  young  lactescent  trees  of  the  fig  tribe  make  their  appear- 
ance, and  after  a  year  are  large  enough  for  supporting  the  vanilla 
plants,  from  which  the  finest  product  is  obtained.  The  fecundation  of 
tlie  flower  is  left  to  nature,  and  the  plant  is  allowed  to  climb  up  over 
tlie  trees. 
In  the  Island  of  Reunion  (Bourbon)  the  fecundation  is  performed 
artificially,  and  the  plant  is  not  allowed  to  grow  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  cultivator,  but  is  guided  along  trelises  formed  by  sticks,  connect- 
ing the  trunks  of  the  trees  together  transversely.  For  supports  of  the 
vanilla  in  plantations  established  in  the  open  field,  mangoes,  fig  trees, 
or  preferably  physic  nut  trees  (Jatropha  curcas),  are  first  grown,  and 
the  cuttings  are  set  in  trenches  8  inches  deep,  dug  between  the  trees 
and  near  the  trelises. 
Fecundation. — As  the  labellum  totally  covers  the  stigma,  and  the 
anther  rests  on  the  labellum,  spontaneous  fecundation  is  comparatively 
rare,  and  even  in  Mexico,  Guiana  and  other  countries,  where  the  plant 
is  left  to  itself,  it  has  been  observed  that  a  length  of  12  to  26  inches 
of  vine  will  produce  only  one  pod  from  about  40  flowers,  all  of  which 
can  be  artificially  fecundated.  This  was  formerly  performed  by  cut- 
ting the  labellum,  but  is  now  more  successfully  done  by  the  method  of 
a  Creole  slave  in  the  colony,  by  slipping  away  the  labellum  from 
beneath  the  anther,  and  thus  bringing  that  organ  in  direct  contact 
with  the  stigma.  To  23revent  injury  to  the  plant  by  excessive  fecun- 
dation, only  5  or  6  of  the  finest  flow^ers  on  each  bunch  having  a  large 
fleshy  peduncle,  are  fecundated,  and  when  this  is  assured  from  the 
persistence  of  the  flowers  and  their  drying  at  the  extremity  of  the 
fruit,  the  remainder  of  the  bunch  with  all  its  buds  should  be  cut  oflF. 
