*mxSv*;w£xm'} Epiphyte  Character  of  the  Vanilla  Plant.  555 
itself  dies,  the  plant  fails  to  propagate,  and  it  will  soon  show 
decay.  All  attempts  to  grow  the  vanilla  bean  plant  successfully  in 
this  country  have  been  failures;  while  we  have  known  a  number  01 
them  to  live  for  some  time,  none  of  them  have  ever  been  known  to 
bear  fruit. 
My  remarks  refer  particularly  to  the  Mexican  plant — Vanilla 
planifolia.  Mr.  Beringer's  reference  to  the  plants  in  the  islands 
of  the  Indian  Ocean  might  possibly  be  the  case  of  some  of  the 
plants  of  the  bastard  species,  but  surely  not  of  the  plants  grow- 
ing the  vanilla  pod  used  as  a  condiment.  While  we  admit  that 
our  knowledge  of  the  vanilla  from  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean 
is  not  as  full  and  as  ripe  as  that  of  the  Mexican,  yet  all  information 
received  on  the  subject  warrants  us  in  stating  that  the  cultivated 
and  wild  plant  bearing  fruit  in  these  countries  take  their  sustenance 
and  life  from  the  sap  of  the  forest  trees. 
We  write  this,  believing  that  we  are  correct  in  saying  that  the 
vanilla  plant — Vanilla  planifolia — is  a  parasite,  and  substantiates  the 
circular  of  1890. 
Yours  very  truly, 
The  Charles  E.  Hires  Company. 
Philadelphia,  October  5,  1892. 
Note  by  the  Editor. — On  consulting  the  "  Encyclopedia  Britan- 
nica,"  9th  edit.,  xxiv,  p.  66,  we  find  that  the  vanilla  plant  is  stated 
to  have  "  a  long  fleshy  stem  and  attaches  itself  by  its  aerial  rootlets 
to  trees,  and  appears  to  be  little  dependent  on  the  soil  for  its  nour- 
ishment." This  description  applies  to  an  epiphytic  plant,  but  not 
to  a  parasite.  This  is  further  shown  from  the  account  of  the  cul- 
tivation, according  to  which  "  in  Mexico  a  clearing  is  made  in  the 
forest,  where  a  few  young  trees,  12  or  15  feet  apart,  are  left  to  serve 
as  a  support  for  the  climbing  stems  of  the  vanilla  plant."  And 
further :  "  In  Reunion,  Mauritius  and  the  Seychelles  the  young 
plants  are  supported  by  a  rude  trellis  made  between  the  trunks  of  the 
trees." 
The  account  given  in  the  correspondence  quoted  in  the  above 
letter  likewise  shows  that  the  plant  is  epiphytic,  and  when  cut 
above  the  ground  derives  its  nourishment  from  the  atmosphere,  but 
not  Irom  the  sap  of  the  tree  as  erroneously  stated.  It  is  true  that 
as  late  as  the  early  part  of  the  present  century  the  vanilla  plant  was 
