CULTIVATION  OF  VANILLA  IN  MEXICO. 
39 
thickness  of  the  little  finger,  is  greenish,  fleshy  and  almost  cy- 
lindrical, and  has,  like  the  vine,  occasional  nodes  and  runners. 
Each  node  is  furnished  with  a  thick  opposite  leaf,  about  eight 
inches  long  and  three  wide.  Its  roots,  which  penetrate  the 
bark  of  the  tree,  find  there  sufficient  nourishment  to  keep  the 
plant  fresh  and  vigorous,  even  when  the  lower  part  of  the  stem 
may  have  become  accidentally  injured,  or  even  separated  from 
the  root. 
When  the  stem  has  reached  a  certain  height,  it  begins  to 
branch,  spreads  out  on  all  sides,  and  becomes  covered  with  large 
flowers,  which  are  greenish  externally,  but  white  within.  The 
flower  changes  in  ripening  into  a  pod  seven  to  eight  inches 
long,  which  is  filled  with  an  oily  mass  of  small,  black,  shining 
seed.  The  plant  commonly  grows  in  the  forest,  in  uncultivated, 
moist  places,  which  are  often  overflowed,  and  become  covered 
with  rank  vegetation.  To  propagate  it,  it  is  sufficient  to  plant 
cuttings,  taken  off  near  the  lower  part  of  the  stem,  which  soon 
take  root  and  send  up  shoots.  If  these  shoots  are  allowed  to 
spread  upon  the  earth,  or  over  the  tangled  underbrush,  the  fruit 
becomes  exposed  to  the  danger  of  spoiling,  to  prevent  which  the 
young  plants  are  bound  to  the  trees  a  snort  distance  above  the 
ground,  on  the  bark  of  which  they  immediately  take  root,  and 
grow  downwards  towards  the  earth.  Air  roots  are  sent  out, 
which,  seeking  the  ground,  soon  obtain  a  more  secure  footing 
than  those  cuttings  which  are  committed  entirely  to  the  soil, 
which  latter  frequently  decay  or  wither. 
The  vanilla  ripens  generally  about  the  end  of  March,  and  the 
harvest  lasts  about  three  months.  In  its  fresh  condition  it  has 
no  smell  which  would  particularly  remind  one  of  that  excel- 
lent aroma  it  acquires  during  the  preparation  which  it  under- 
goes. This  valuable  plant  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of  the 
Mexican  Territory,  as  also  in  th^e  ever  green,  warm  and  damp 
forests  of  Cuba,  and  there  is  nothing  else  necessary  to  be  done 
by  the  natives  than  to  gather  and  dry  its  aromatic  fruit,  a  pro- 
cess which  was  formerly  kept  as  a  secret,  but  which  was  soon 
acquired  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  vanilla  plant  flourishes  on  the  East  Coast,  and  also  in 
the  Western  Departments  of  the  Cordilleras,  in  the  States  of 
