Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
Dec,  1893. 
Vanilla. 
579 
smaller  with  larger  leaves  and  less  pointed.  The  Bean  is  about 
twice  as  thick  and  of  a  triangular  shape  somewhat  resembling  the 
ordinary  banana  when  insufficiently  nourished.  It  has  an  agreeable 
fragrance,  resembling  that  of  the  Anise  plant.  It  is  commonly  and 
naturally  supposed  that  the  Beans  grow  and  thicken  until  approach- 
ing ripeness.  It  is  not  so,  for  after  it  is  two  months  and  a  half  old 
it  ceases  to  increase  in  size.  Mr.  Tremari  said  he  had  made  several 
observations  during  the  past  two  years,  measuring  Vanilla  from  dif- 
ferent vines,  and  has  found  that  some  after  the  middle  and  some 
after  the  last  half  of  June  have  neither  grown  nor  thickened  in 
the  least. 
The  vine  puts  forth  many  blossoms,  but  the  greater  part  do  not 
bear,  and  those  attaining  full  growth  fall,  or  turn  yellow  and  crack 
prematurely,  owing  to  some  disease  in  the  reed,  the  bean,  however, 
clings  to  it.  This  serves  as  a  pretext  for  some  persons  to  say  that  in 
October  and  November  the  Vanilla  Bean  is  ripe  and  should  be  cut, 
not  bearing  in  mind  that  its  apparent  ripeness  arrives  from  sickness 
in  the  plant,  as  shown  by  its  defective  nutrition,  being  soft  to  the 
touch  and  lacking  the  solidity  of  the  ripe  bean. 
I  found  that  the  plants  grew  best  in  virgin  soil  where  streams  and 
brooks  abound,  and  where  the  earth  is  a  little  sandy,  and  the  damp- 
ness is  retained  longer  than  in  any  other  soil ;  in  these  places  the 
vines  grow  luxuriantly  and  vigorously,  and  yield  large  fruit,  a  most 
important  factor,  when  one  considers  how  scarce  rain  is  in  this  sec- 
tion between  February  and  July.  Marshy  ground  is  likewise  unde- 
sirable, as  an  excess  of  moisture  rots  the  vine.  It  is  found  that 
plants  do  best  where  a  little  sunlight  can  reach  them,  and  the  largest 
growers  have  trimmed  out  the  heavy  foliage  that  covers  many 
plants.  Yet  vines  exposed  too  much  to  the  sun  yield  little  vanilla, 
and  what  they  do  yield  is  small ;  the  plants  soon  get  yellow  and  die 
in  a  few  years.  On  the  other  hand,  those  with  heavy  foliage  never 
thicken.  Their  color  remains  a  rich  green,  and  finally  sickens.  The 
bean  they  yield  is  likewise  small,  badly  nourished,  and  ripeness  is 
retarded.  After  setting  out  the  vines,  if  they  do  well,  they  will 
commence  to  bear  fruit  in  about  three  or  four  years  ;  its  yield 
increases  for  four  or  five  years,  when  it  begins  to  decrease.  It 
bears  little  vanilla  after  the  tenth  year.  These  vines  yield  when 
fully  developed  85  and  some  as  high  as  200,  although  these  are  very 
rare.   Some  vines  have  branches  that  bear  as  much  as  12  to  1  c  bean. 
