480 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 June, 1899. 
it is called the labellum or lip, and it envelopes the column or continuation of the 
axis of the plant on which are set the curious anther and stigma. This 
continuation is called the column, and it and the other parts of the flower are 
shown in the illustration. 
At the top of the column is a hood which covers up the anther and pollen 
masses, and below this is the viscid stigmatic surface, protected and hidden by a 
projecting lip sometimes called the Jamellum. ‘Thus we see that the pollen is 
shut in by the hood, and the stigma is shut in by the lamellum, so that two 
obstacles prevent self-pollination. The obect of artificial fertilisation is to 
remove these obstacles, and to permit the pollen masses to approach the stigma. 
_ This is easily effected—tirstly, by detaching the hood, which is accomplished 
easily by touching it lightly with a piece of sharpened wood ; secondly, by 
slipping the lamellum under the anther; and, thirdly, by ensuring contact of the 
pollen and stigma by gentle pressure between the forefinger and thumb. The 
operation is performed in a few seconds after a little practice, and it may be 
facilitated by holding the column between the thumb and middle finger of the left 
hand, whilst it is supported at the back by the forefinger ; the right hand is then 
free to use the fertilising instrument, which should be rather blunt and flattened 
at the end. A tooth broken from an old comb and fixed into a piece of thin 
bamboo a few inches in length has been used by the author in fertilising many 
yanilla flowers. 
CROPS. 
Tf the fertilising operation prove successful, the flower will gradually wither, 
whilst the pod will grow rapidly. 1f unsuccessful, the flower will fall off before 
the second day, and the ovary will remain undeveloped, turn yellow, shrivel up, 
and drop off the stalk. The flowers come out in February and March in clusters 
of from 10 to 20, but not more than half a dozen of the cluster should be 
fertilised ; and in this way fine large pods will be secured. 
Fertilisation should commence about 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning, for if 
it be left too late pollination may be incomplete, or fail altogether. The fruit 
goes on growing for a month, but it will take at least five months longer to 
ripen sufliciently for harvesting. 
The pods are to be gathered when they begin to turn yellow at their ends, - 
or when they produce a crackling sensation on being pressed lightly between 
the fingers. Hach pod should be gathered separately, by being bent to one 
side, when it will snap off the stem. It is very important to gather the pods 
at the right time, for, if they be too ripe, they will split open in curing, and if 
too green they are dried with difficulty, and they will have little or no perfume. 
CURING. 
After the beans are gathered, they are plunged for half a minute into hot 
water that is almost boiling. They are then put on mats to drain dry, and 
afterwards they are spread out on blankets and exposed to the sun. very 
evening they are rolled up in the blankets, and shut up in light boxes to ferment. 
The sunning process is continued for a week, or until the pods become brown 
and pliable, when they are squeezed between the fingers to straighten them, 
and so cause the seeds and oily substance inside to be evenly distributed. 
Should any of the pods split, they should be closed up and bound round tightly 
with silk thread or narrow tape. As they dry and shrivel, the thread should be 
unwound, and the pods tied up again. When the pods are brown, the drying 
process should be finished in the shade, which may take many weeks. Sometimes 
the beans are slightly anointed with castor or olive oil, but this cannot be 
recommended, as the oil may become rancid and thus spoil the product. 
PACKING. 
The dried’ beans are to be sorted according to their length—the long, thin 
ones being the most valuable. Beans of the same length are to be tied in 
bundles of 25 or 50, the ligatures usually being applied close to each end of 
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