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Title: Vanilla culture as practiced in the Seychelles Islands
Author: S. J. Galbraith
Release date: October 11, 2025 [eBook #77026]
Language: English
Original publication: Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898
Credits: Carla Foust, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANILLA CULTURE AS PRACTICED IN THE SEYCHELLES ISLANDS ***
Bulletin No. 21, Division of Botany. PLATE I.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--VANILLA IN FLOWER--SOME OF THE FLOWERS ALREADY
GROWN INTO SMALL PODS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--VANILLA IN FAIR CROP, ON BARS AND POSTS UNDER
SHADE.]
BULLETIN NO. 21. S. P. I., No. 2.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
DIVISION OF BOTANY.
VANILLA CULTURE
AS PRACTICED IN THE SEYCHELLES ISLANDS.
BY
S. J. GALBRAITH.
[Illustration]
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1898.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction to Mr. Galbraith’s paper, by D. G. Fairchild 7
General conditions 9
Starting a vanillery 10
Preparing the vines for cropping 13
Pollination of the flowers 15
Curing the pods for market 17
Miscellaneous information and notes 21
Summary 23
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATE.
PLATE I. Page.
Fig. 1, vanilla in flower--some of the flowers already
grown into small pods; fig. 2, vanilla in fair
crop, on bars and posts under shade Frontispiece
TEXT FIGURES.
FIG. 1. Hand pollination of the vanilla flower 16
FIG. 2. Plan of curing house 19
INTRODUCTION TO MR. GALBRAITH’S PAPER.
By D. G. FAIRCHILD.
The following paper on vanilla culture has been prepared by Mr. S.
J. Galbraith, of Mahé, Seychelles Islands, who was for some time
associated with Mr. W. T. Swingle, agricultural explorer of the Section
of Seed and Plant Introduction, in the preparation of a joint memoir on
the culture and disease of vanilla in those islands.
As the second part of the report, which deals with the disease,
has not been completed, it seems desirable not to delay longer the
publication of this part, relating to vanilla culture, inasmuch as it
is practically complete in itself.
Although the vanilla is a plant native to America, its culture is now
carried on most extensively and successfully in Bourbon, Seychelles,
Mauritius, Madagascar, and other islands lying in the Tropics in the
Indian Ocean east of Africa, as well as in the Island of Tahiti in the
South Pacific.
The vanilla industry is a very important one in the Seychelles Islands,
and Mr. Galbraith, himself for many years a successful planter, is in a
most favorable position to write on the subject of vanilla culture.
The vanilla is a climbing orchid, the nearly mature pod of which is
the part known to trade and that which furnishes vanilla flavoring.
The plant grows wild only in the Tropics, and is so sensitive to cold
that its culture can be successful only in regions absolutely free from
frost.
The recent annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico, and other
tropical territory has added to our domain regions which there is
reason to believe will prove admirably suited to the cultivation of
this plant.
The competition of artificial vanilla, prepared synthetically by
chemical methods, has not proved to be of any considerable importance.
Indeed, the price of good vanilla has risen during recent years
probably because of the ravages of disease in the islands where it is
principally grown.
Prospective growers will be greatly aided in finding suitable climates
and soil by Mr. Galbraith’s recommendations on these points.
The disease mentioned in various places in this bulletin is the one
described in the second as yet unpublished part of the original memoir.
It is of fungous origin, of great destructiveness, and spreads during
moist hot weather very rapidly, frequently causing total destruction
of large plantations in a month. During recent years it has seriously
crippled the vanilla industry in Seychelles, Bourbon, and other islands
of the Indian Ocean. This malady spreads with extraordinary rapidity
where plants are crowded and allowed to intertwine, and for this
reason Mr. Galbraith advises against close planting, though in regions
free from the disease such culture might well prove more profitable
than the methods here advocated.
Without going into details, it may be unhesitatingly affirmed from the
results of Mr. Galbraith’s very thorough and painstaking studies that
the malady is of such great destructiveness, spreads so rapidly, and
is so difficult to control, that it would, if ever introduced, ruin
probably forever the prospects of successful vanilla culture in our new
territories.
_It becomes, then, a matter of absolutely vital importance to keep the
disease out of Hawaii and Puerto Rico if it is ever proposed to grow
vanilla there._
No surer method of destroying in advance the hope of establishing this
highly profitable industry could be conceived than that of carrying
out the first thought that would occur to an enterprising prospective
cultivator, viz, of sending to the islands of the Indian Ocean, where
vanilla culture is most highly developed, for a stock of plants to use
in starting a vanillery.
The only possible way of safeguarding our new domains against this
disease is to prohibit absolutely the introduction of living vanilla
plants except by the Government, and then only after inspection by a
competent plant pathologist.
Fortunately vanilla plants may be multiplied very rapidly if placed
under favorable conditions, and from a small stock of disease-free
plants it would soon be possible to stock all the islands.
The Secretary of Agriculture proposes to secure such perfectly healthy
plants for distribution to planters wishing to experiment with vanilla
culture, and it is hoped that meanwhile, in the absence of any definite
legislation on the subject, public opinion will prevent any promiscuous
importation of vanilla cuttings.
As soon as the plants begin to yield pods the services of an expert
should be secured to superintend the curing, for which specially
constructed apparatus is required, and to report on the quality of the
product.
There is every prospect for the successful establishment of vanilla
culture in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, provided suitable soils and climates
be found, and provided the disease be excluded. Certainly an industry
which yielded to the small island of Tahiti in 1897 $172,295, to the
Seychelles $246,600 in 1897, and to Réunion $560,563 in 1892 is worthy
the serious attention of prospective cultivators. The desirability of
publishing a practical paper on the subject at this time is emphasized
by the conviction that both Hawaii and Puerto Rico offer suitable
fields for the introduction of this industry.
VANILLA CULTURE AS PRACTICED IN THE SEYCHELLES ISLANDS.
By S. J. GALBRAITH.
GENERAL CONDITIONS.
Vanilla cuttings are said to have been first introduced into the
Seychelles Islands in 1866, probably from Bourbon (La Réunion), where
the plant was grown extensively after sugar began to fail, about
1850. Plantations were gradually established and extended by the
multiplication of these original plants and from others subsequently
imported, and for many years now the colony’s prosperity has largely
depended on vanilla.
If kept free from disease it is a plant of extraordinary vitality; and
here, where moisture and heat, its main requirements, are both ample,
the sort of soil it is grown in seems to be of no great importance,
provided that, if it be very poor, the roots are kept well supplied
with manure. It is cultivated in the Seychelles from near sea level
to 1,800 feet altitude, and does well (except for disease) at all
altitudes between these extremes.
The rainfall is generally about 100 inches--that is in Port Victoria,
which lies low; in the hills the precipitation is probably from 10 to
30 per cent greater; and in drier districts, away from high lands,
where little timber is left, it must be considerably less. The fall is
fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but a dry spell, which
is necessary to bring vanilla into flower, is to be looked for in July,
August, or September, while the heaviest rains most frequently come
in December. Even where rain has not fallen for some time the air is
very moist, and for want of more exact information on this head it may
be stated that, generally speaking, in the hills common table salt
will deliquesce in a day or two if left uncovered. The range of shade
temperature for day and night, from sea level to 1,800 feet, may be
put at 90° to 70° F. The former is exceptional, the latter frequent,
especially in early morning when the monsoon is blowing. Occasionally
68° may be registered, but seldom lower. Of soils, three very different
sorts may be mentioned, in all of which vanilla does well here: (1)
Rich vegetable mold, common enough in forest land as a thin surface
skin, and also occurring deeper in valley bottoms. For a quick growth
this is excellent. (2) A greasy red clay, also in fair quantity, on
which vanilla makes good growth. (3) Coarse quartz sand, or gravel,
apparently derived from disintegrated granite, not common, but met with
in considerable patches here and there. Though so unpromising to look
at, this is, perhaps, the best of all. It gives free drainage to the
roots, and in wet years plants fixed on it are more likely to crop than
those on closer soils, while with ample manuring they grow remarkably
well.
The manner of setting out plantations in the Seychelles has undergone
changes within the last twelve years. Formerly plantations were seen
with the rows of vines planted so close together as scarce to leave
room for workers to pass between them. The yield per acre under such
conditions was sometimes enormous, but when disease once started in a
vanillery thus arranged its destruction was rapid and complete, so this
system has been mostly given up. Since the loss of so many close-lined
plantations the distance between the rows has been increased. Living
wood, i. e., small trees, are used as supports for the vines, these
being festooned from fork to fork; but many planters have made use
of hard-wood posts and bars, the former being notched on top and the
latter laid in the notches, resting thus from 4 to 6 feet from the
ground, according to fancy. Over these bars the plants are hung (Pl.
1), being looped up as growth is put on. Wire is sometimes also used
instead of horizontal bars. It is much cheaper, but otherwise has
disadvantages, notable among which is that it sways with wind and is
liable to break the vines, the curvature being too sharp over such a
small round surface. However, when plants thicken into a mass this last
drawback mostly disappears.
A third, and, as the writer believes, much better way of growing
vanilla, is now more generally coming into practice. This is to plant
each creeper on a tree of its own, and where land is cheap it is an
advantage if these are well apart. So arranged, the general maintenance
of a vanillery is certainly more expensive, inasmuch as isolated plants
require more manure than when the same number are closely grouped
together. The work of flower pollination and crop gathering is also
more laborious. But more than a counterpoise to these disadvantages is
the increased security this method of planting gives against wholesale
destruction from disease; for when so arranged a sick plant can be
removed and destroyed with greater chance of this being done before any
of its neighbors become affected; whereas when growths of different
plants are interwoven, either in their roots or shoots, it is difficult
to know when enough has been taken up, and there is every likelihood of
the disease becoming established beyond control.
STARTING A VANILLERY.
To give some notion of how a vanilla plantation is set out and carried
on in this colony, it will be convenient to assume that the tree method
of planting is the one adopted. A great variety of trees will serve
the purpose. Here, on most properties, there is an abundance ready
for the work; but of course where this is not the case suitable trees
must first be planted. In selecting trees those should be chosen which
do not grow too large, but give moderate foliage (about half shade)
without ever losing all their leaves at once, and having plenty of
branches from 5 to 7 feet from the ground, affording forks enough to
train the vines through.
No hard and fast rule can be laid down as to the distance trees
should be kept apart. Here formerly, as above stated, vanilla was
grown in dense masses with great success for a time. Elsewhere it may
be advantageously so grown now. However, it is safe to state that
overcrowding in any kind of planting invites disease, and the farther
plants are kept apart the more likely are they to remain healthy. A
4-foot radius would be a moderate allowance for the roots of a vigorous
vanilla plant, and if 1 foot is kept clear around the circle allowed to
each plant’s roots this would give 9 feet as the distance between the
trees. It would be difficult to insure the plants being kept distinct
in less space. Where suitable trees are already growing on the land to
be planted, these can be thinned out if too close, or they may be left
in small lots of three or four or more together, a sufficient clear
space intervening between each lot; but in that case if one vine of a
group showed disease the whole would have to be removed. Many trees
stand topping, and it is a great advantage when they do, for on being
cut 7 feet or so from the ground branches spring from near the cut part
at a convenient height, and the best situated of those can be chosen to
train the vines through, the rest that grow awkwardly being removed.
About 5 feet from the base is low enough to allow any to grow.
Trees being in readiness, planting may be done at any time of year
here. If during a wet spell, vanilla will sprout all the quicker;
should it be dry, the plants will delay a little, but there is no
fear of their missing if properly planted, and the one danger point
to guard is where the vine leaves the earth. This part of the vine is
burnt through if not shaded with grass or leaves. However, this also
would only mean a little delay in the start of growth; for though they
take some time longer about it, vanilla cuttings will grow well enough
if merely tied to the trees with their lower ends some inches clear
of the ground. Illustrative of the extreme vitality of plants under
adverse conditions, it may be mentioned that in neglected plantations,
where the vines have been allowed to climb well up into the branches of
good-sized trees, and then been broken in attempting to get them down,
the broken portions, sometimes partly swinging free, have remained
green and capable of growth for upwards of a year, sending down long
aerial roots 15 or 20 feet in length, and in some cases where these
have escaped injury the broken plant may reestablish connection with
the soil and start to grow again. If planted clear of the ground and
merely tied to the supporting tree, it is advisable to tie two or three
large leaves round each vine for the distance of 3 feet up; thus shaded
the aerial roots quickly burst through the stem, and, getting something
to cling to at once, soon make their way to earth without injury.
In starting a new vanillery, where the estate has no plants these
are readily purchased here at small cost. From 2 to 3 rupees (55 to
90 cents) per 100 fathoms is the usual rate for cuttings, the fathom
being what a man can span with outspread arms, a good sweep of the
vine hanging in a curve between his hands. Where choice is possible,
although oldish cuttings will grow pretty well, it is best to have the
plants of recent growth; in fact, growing shoots, cut off close to
where they spring from the parent vine, are preferable. At their point
of origin the nodes for some distance are close together, and though
roots will strike from any joints, they have a natural tendency to do
so quicker at the shoot’s base. As to the length of cuttings to plant,
opinions differ; but there can be no question that the longer cuttings
produce cropping plants sooner than the short ones. If a 2 or 3-foot
branch is planted, the shoot it gives is invariably more slender and
slower of growth than would be that from a 6-foot cutting, and up to
10 or 12 feet every advantage lies with the longer plants, except the
additional expense.
The question as to whether cuttings of that length are to be planted
whole or divided into two or three plants should be settled by their
cost. It is usual here to loosen the soil with a hoe where vanilla is
to be planted, and bury the end, laid horizontally, an inch or two in
the earth. Quite as good a way is merely to press the lower part of
the plant into the soft soil until it is flush with the surface. On
sloping land loosened soil washes away sooner with heavy rain, and in
such situations it is best to leave the ground quite undisturbed. In
any case the leaves on that part of the vine which rests in or on the
ground are cut off fairly close to the stem, and an arm full of leaves,
fern, grass, or forest sweepings laid on top to the depth of 3 or 4
inches, for a couple of feet around the plant. Its roots will not need
to be mulched for a greater distance than that for some months to come,
and to cover a larger area would be useless. As new top dressings are
laid on, which must be done when the first supply rots down and becomes
thin, these can be gradually extended to allow of more root spread,
till the limit of 4 feet radius is reached. If well covered, the roots
do not run much; only starved vines run far with their roots, seeking
nourishment; where this is plentiful they mat in and beneath it. Being
entirely surface feeders, should any make their way beyond the cover
they can be gently lifted and tucked under the decaying leaves, etc.;
but this is a hint that the plant needs a new supply of top dressing.
The number of joints laid on or in the soil will vary with the length
of the plant, but should not be less than three for this mode of
planting, while for long cuttings six or seven joints are needed for a
quick start.
If of sufficient length, the free end of the planted vine is hung
through a fork of the supporting tree, but it is also advisable to tie
it in two or three places to the tree to hinder swinging and chafing.
The material used for these ties here is a fiber called _vacoa_[1]
which rots in about a year, by which time the plants should have
tendril-like roots enough to steady themselves. When once properly
planted, the cuttings will need little or no attention for some months,
but when the growth becomes vigorous the shoots must be looked after.
Such of them as have grown clear of their supports are hitched up and,
if long enough, hung through one of the forks. An occasional tie here
may also be necessary, but in general a leaf or two of the growing part
can be hooked on to some other fixed part of the vine, and in a few
days, unless blown loose, the tendrils will have fastened to the leaf,
and thus support the plant. Shoots must not be allowed to climb very
high among branches of the supporting tree, especially if there be many
and close together, or there will be breakages in getting them down.
For this purpose, when they get beyond hand reach, a forked stick 6 or
7 feet long is useful. The fork is worked between the tree and climbing
vine, and its tendrils in succession are broken by pushing and twisting
the stick when they are within the fork. The last two or three tendrils
are easily broken or leave the tree without breaking, and care should
be taken when the vine is nearly clear to catch the stem of it high up,
within the stick’s fork; it can then be lowered gently without fear of
breaking.
Some judgment is necessary in selecting the fork of the tree through
which each shoot is to hang, a fork whose height fits in with a natural
bend of the vine, if it has one, being chosen; otherwise one whose
height takes the vine between joints is best, since if bent at a joint
the vine is apt to snap, especially so when in vigorous growth, being
then full of sap and brittle. In good growing weather--i. e., warm,
still, and moist--healthy, well-nourished vanilla vines grow very
rapidly, an inch per day being no uncommon rate.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Obtained from a species of screw pine, _Pandanus utilis_.
PREPARING THE VINES FOR CROPPING.
If the plants have done well they should be ready for such preparation
in about eighteen months, more or less, according to the season.
Formerly in this colony they were allowed to grow on until a spell of
dry weather set in prior to the usual blossoming time. The growing
ends were then cut off and all new shoots removed as they showed till
flowers began to come or till the season for them was past. When the
dry spell proved a long one, this seemed to answer pretty well; and,
indeed, under these circumstances flowers would come in any case,
whether growth was checked or not. But now it is more usual to stop the
growing ends some nine or ten months, in the first instance, before
flowering time. In the majority of cases the terminal bud will push,
and this new shoot should also be removed when 5 or 6 inches long--not
earlier, else the next to the last bud is apt to grow.
After the second checking most vines will shoot far enough back to
allow of the shoots being left. These grow on for the next year,
and the stopped branches hang down with their lower ends a good foot
or more from the ground, being generally from 4 to 6 feet in length,
according to the heights of the forks through which they are hung and
the positions of the new shoots, though these generally spring just
before the last bends of the checked branches, which are to be the
cropping parts. The new growths behind these are supposed to drain
them of their sap, and thus conduce to flowering. However that may be,
these checked hanging branches have certainly more tendency to flower
than other parts of the vines. Flowers take some six weeks to develop
from the moment they burst through the buds to their time of opening,
but this period varies in length with the weather, continuous dryness
retarding and moderate showers hastening their development when once
started.
The growing branches of vines should now be checked again for the
following year’s crop. These will be less troublesome in putting
out inconvenient shoots, as the plant’s sap is more apt to go into
flowering branches, where nourishment is now more needed. Could the
whole work be performed in a few days, this change in the direction
of sap flow should be done preferably ten days or a fortnight before
flowers begin to open. In a large plantation, unless the hands are very
numerous or the shoots have been arranged beforehand so that there
is little else to do than cut their ends, it will take some weeks
to accomplish this, and therefore work must begin earlier or finish
later. If the dry spell necessary for flowering has lasted a good while
and can fairly be depended upon to continue long enough, the growing
ends may be cut earlier; but it must be borne in mind that if rain in
quantity comes too soon and, in addition to the stimulus given by it,
the branches intended for flowering have also the sap from previously
growing shoots poured into them, the chance of their cropping well will
be much diminished. Many a promise of a fine crop is ruined by too
early rain here. The country, climate, and the planters’ skill as a
weather prophet must govern this undertaking.
An abundant supply of leaf mold should be in readiness for laying on
the roots at this season, and should be applied when flowers begin to
open, or a little before. If previous dressings have been so timed that
vines are in a somewhat starved condition when flowering is expected,
the chances of a good blossoming are increased, but this practice needs
judgment, or a poor quality of pods will be the result.
There used to be a story current here, no doubt with some grain
of truth in it, to the effect that in a very wet season the only
vanilla planter who had any crop was one whose pigs had got adrift
in his plantation and spent the night in grubbing up vanilla roots.
This method of producing flowers is not recommended, but it is quite
possible that careful and systematic root pruning might be carried on
with advantage in wet years, if one could tell beforehand when these
were coming.
POLLINATION OF THE FLOWERS.
The work of flower fertilization (pollination)--for they have all to be
fertilized by hand, and that on the day they open--is mostly done by
women and children. The operation is a very simple one, and an average
negro will acquire the knack after being shown a few examples. (See
fig. 1.)
The flower is taken in the left hand, three fingers being placed at its
back and the thumb in front, the column with organs of fertilization
on top being supported against the middle sepal behind. A bit of hard
wood, cut to the size of a toothpick and scraped smooth and flat at one
end, is the only tool required; this is held in the right hand. To get
at the organs of fertilization easily, the sack which grows from the
side of the column enveloping its front and marking the sexual organs
is pressed down by the bit of wood, or this is run through its base,
and the sack torn up, or the whole sack may be plucked off with finger
and thumb, it matters not how it is laid open, so long as this is done
quickly and without injury to any other part of the flower. The smooth
end of the fecundating instrument is then laid flat on the front of the
column just beneath the organs of fertilization, and being pushed up it
catches under the flap which keeps the pollen from coming into contact
with the stigma. The flap is raised along with the stick till it lies
flat against the upper part of the column, being held in that position
by the bit of wood. The stamen, at first raised along with the flap,
now falls down again in its original position, and the flap being out
of the way the pollen comes into contact with the stigma, and a slight
pressure of the thumb on the stamen lodges the pollen in the position
required; the bit of stick being then quickly but gently withdrawn, the
operation is complete.
The whole affair is very much easier done than described, and with
flowers fairly numerous an ordinary hand will fecundate a hundred or so
per hour. Early morning, from 7 to 9, is the best time for fertilizing;
but the work may be started with sunrise and carried on well into the
afternoon, though about midday flowers begin to close some and the work
goes slower. Most plants in full crop produce many more flowers than it
is advisable to fertilize, for other parts of the vines, besides the
checked hanging branches, blossom in favorable seasons, and the number
of pods which a vine is able to mature properly must be estimated
from the plant’s size and condition. In the course of four or five
years, though by that time the planted cutting will be spent, if well
cared for it will have grown a large quantity of vine; and as each new
shoot, when long enough, sends down aerial roots in its own behalf, it
becomes, so to speak, an independent plant and the parent of others.
If none of the shoots from a strong growing vine have been removed the
mass of growth in time becomes enormous, and may be equal to maturing
a hundred or more good pods. When the supporting tree is stout and
furnishes forks enough to admit of the vine being spread out so as to
let plenty of air through it the vine may be allowed to accumulate to
this extent, and if it gives, say, 20 clusters, each yielding 10 or
more flowers, 5 or 6 might be fertilized on each.
[Illustration:
FIG. 1.--Hand pollination of the vanilla flower (after A. Delteil,
La Vanille, Paris, 1897, Pl. 2). _a_ shows the position of hands,
needle, and flower in the operation of pollination, first stage; _b_,
operation of pollination, second stage; _c_, flower with male organs
raised (pollen masses shown at 1); _d_, flower from which outer parts
have been removed, showing pollen masses at 1, stigma at 2, and the
gynostemium at 3; _e_, perfect flower; _f_, longitudinal section
through male and female organs of the flower before hand pollination,
showing pollen mass in the anther or male organ at 1; _g_, similar
section after hand pollination, showing the pollen mass applied to the
stigma at 1. ]
But, generally speaking, about 30 pods to a vine is as many as should
be left, and he would be a lucky planter who should average that
number. In selecting flowers to fertilize those should be chosen which
spring from the lower part and from the sides of the flower stalks,
from which position they grow straighter pods than those coming out
on top. In favorable weather, i. e., moist but not heavy rain (which
latter often washes the pollen grains away before they germinate),
only a small percentage of flowers will fail of fecundation. In case
of failure, the flower drops off in three days or less, but otherwise
remains attached to its stalk and slowly withers; the _gynostemium_
adheres to most pods till they begin to ripen; thus it is easy to see
the number successfully fecundated in each bunch, and where enough are
secured the rest can be broken off. Later it is advisable to cut clean
off with a knife the flower stalk a quarter of an inch or so beyond the
last fertilized flower. Some planters plaster a bit of sticky clay on
the cut surface to prevent it rotting back. Dry lime is perhaps better;
this may be dabbed on with a piece of cloth dipped in the powder.
Pods grow to their full size in five or six weeks, but take some
eight months, more or less, according to the altitude at which they
are grown, or the amount of shade over them, before they ripen. The
indication of ripening is a slight yellowing of the whole pod, which
is more marked near its free end. When under too much shade the change
in color is less noticeable, and many pods grown in such places split
before they are gathered, and for that reason lose in value. To guard
against splitting, and yet gather them at perfect ripeness, they should
be gone over every other day. In removing them from the flower stalks
the pods are grasped one by one near their attached ends, very slightly
twisted, and at the same time pressed aside with the thumb. They must
be taken off quite clean. If a bit of the flower stalk comes away with
a pod, as sometimes will happen, it should be cut off smoothly. Any
break or crack in the pod itself, however, near its butt, ranks it as
an inferior quality. Buyers are very particular in this respect. After
each day’s gathering, before the pods are started on their first stage
of curing, it is well to sort them roughly into four classes: 1, long;
2, medium; 3, short; and 4, split.
CURING THE PODS FOR MARKET.
There are many different modes of preparing vanilla, but for brevity’s
sake one alone will be described; it is probably the simplest, and
appears to be as successful as any other. About 400 of the longest pods
are placed in a basket and plunged into hot water (190° F.) for ten
seconds; this is repeated twice, the dips being increased to twelve and
fifteen seconds respectively, with intervals of half a minute between
each two. After the third dip, when most of the water has drained off,
the pods are placed in a wooden box or barrel lined with blankets, and
closely covered up with the same material. When lot 1 is finished, lot
2 is similarly treated, and for them the water may be a few degrees
cooler, or the dipping times a trifle shortened; and so also with lot
No. 3, while No. 4 may be treated as No. 2. Perhaps it is as well to
add that 190° F. is not an absolutely essential heat, but is about as
high as it is safe to go; while even the longest pods may be adequately
treated in water at 170° F. if they are kept in it long enough. An
experienced preparer will be guided more by the appearance of the pod
after each dip than by any fixed formula. Where small quantities are
dealt with less heat is needed, and the above figures are given for
a boiler 22 inches in diameter by 12 inches deep. It is best to have
good-sized boxes or barrels to sweat the pods in, those holding 2,000
or 3,000 each being preferable, for the more pods there are together
the better heat is retained. The lots (1, 2, 3, and 4) should be kept
apart, a fold of blanket being laid on each if all go into one box. By
the following morning they should have changed to chocolate or puce
color, and are then ready to spread on the drying shelves; but if there
is a large number together, and the heat has been well kept in, they
may be left for another twenty-four hours.
A curing house for preparing a crop up to 2,000 pounds (dry) may have
the following dimensions and fixings: 30 feet long, 15 feet broad, 13
feet in height of walls. It should be divided into four compartments,
two on the ground and two above, each being approximately 15 by 15 and
6¹⁄₂ feet high. One compartment on the ground floor is used as a hot
room, having a flue 2 feet wide covered with sheet iron running through
the center. If the heat is too intense from this, sand may be sprinkled
on top to reduce it. Above this flue and around two sides of the hot
chamber tiers of shelves are fixed 6 inches apart, on which the pods
are spread to dry. The shelves may be conveniently made of laths, on
top of which mats or canvas can be laid; or fine-meshed wire netting
would serve the same purpose, perhaps, better than anything else. The
entire arrangement will be more easily understood by reference to fig.
2. Compartment No. 1 is the hot room. Dotted lines in it and in Nos. 3
and 4 indicate where shelves are fixed; D, door; W, window, etc. The
table is used for sorting green pods on, and is otherwise useful at
final measuring time and when the pods are tied into packets. No. 3 is
above No. 1, and is also a warm room, some heat from No. 1 coming up
through the floor. The clear spaces in Nos. 2 and 4 have fiber mats
spread on them when required, and on these the pods are handled and
sorted as they progress in curing. The worker, sitting on the floor,
keeps the four lots of pods--long, medium, short, and split--distinct
on the shelves. This facilitates the sorting, the short and split pods
needing to be examined sooner and oftener than the longer and sound
sorts, as they dry more rapidly.
A good average heat for the hot chamber is 110° F. A few degrees more
or less does not matter, but pods are apt to dry too quickly if the
heat is much greater. The slower the process the more uniform and
better is the result. As they begin to turn soft and show longitudinal
wrinkles the pods are removed from room 1 to 3, and after reaching a
certain degree of flexibility they pass on to the shelves in room 4
and there finish their curing. If kept too long in either a hot or a
warm room the thin ends of pods shrink too quickly, and this is to be
avoided. In a large crop there are always some inferior, ill-nourished
pods, in which this occurs, but the last remark will be useful to a
beginner. When fully cured the pods are much wrinkled and pliable,
bending easily around one’s finger. There is considerable difference in
the degree of dryness preferred by different curers. If the contents
move easily all along a pod, without any unevenness being noticed when
it is drawn between the finger and thumb, it is nearly dry enough; but
the right stage can only be learned by experience.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Plan of curing house. (Dotted lines indicate
where drying shelves are fixed.)]
When finished the pods are well wiped with bits of soft flannel and
then kept in boxes with close-fitting lids. It is better to sort them
roughly into lengths as each day’s lot is put away and tie up the
various sizes in bundles of about 200 each if the numbers allow of it,
for they have to be examined once or twice a week in order to remove
the molded ones, and this is much more quickly done with bundles than
when they are loose. Moreover, it makes the ultimate accurate measuring
easier. Either at this time or later the different qualities are more
exactly separated, none but faultless pods, without scar or defect in
curing, being allowed in the first quality. The rest rank as seconds,
etc. The split pods and the pods that have been cut on account of mold
are also kept distinct. It is well to keep a crop at least three or
four months before marketing. By that time nearly all shaky pods that
are liable to mold will have shown themselves. All are then measured
and tied up in neat bundles of 50 pods each of even length, the pods
varying in length not more than one-eighth of an inch.
The general sightliness of a marketed crop has much influence on the
price it will bring, and whatever whims buyers get into their heads the
producer must conform to or suffer in pocket. Bundle tying is something
of an art, and a deft hand at it is valuable. Sixteen or thereabouts
of the shapeliest pods in each 50 are selected for the outside; the
rest are tied up as a core, being kept in position with a few turns of
the fiber tying cord, while the chosen 16 are carefully placed round
them. The bundle is tied in either three places, near each end and in
the middle, or in two places, an inch or more from the ends, according
to the length of bundle. The core-holding string is pulled out before
the final tie is fixed. Two-tie packets are boxed as they are. With
those of three ties buyers prefer that the end cords be removed before
packing, to enable them to examine the bundles inside and see if the
contents are of uniform quality. If kept tied some time before being
packed the bundles set, as it were, and retain their neat shape. The
tin boxes used here for packing vanilla in measure 12¹⁄₂ by 8¹⁄₂ inches
in width, are 4¹⁄₂ inches deep, and hold about 12 pounds. Each box has
a label pasted on it which bears the grower’s trade-mark, the length
and number of packets, their quality, and net weight, and a similar
label is put inside. As some chemical action is set up when vanilla
rests in contact with tin or iron, thin vegetable parchment paper is
placed in the boxes to keep the two apart. The lids are then sealed
close with pasted paper and the tins packed in wooden cases, 6 in each,
and thus dispatched to market.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION AND NOTES.
A fair crop should average about 100 cured pods to the pound.
-----------------------------------------------
Pods per pound.
-------------+----------------+----------------
| Fresh gathered |
| (about). | Dry (about).
-------------+----------------+----------------
9-inch pods | 20 | 65
8-inch pods | 25 | 80
7-inch pods | 33 | 110
6-inch pods | 50 | 160
-----------------------------------------------
The following crops, produced on one estate during the last five years,
will serve to show how uncertain are the returns from vanilla growing
here:
Pounds.
1893 (long dry spell for flowering time in 1892) 1,800
1894 (rain came too soon and spoiled good promise) 120
1895 (next to no dry spell for flowering in 1894) 40
1896 (excellent promise mostly spoiled by too early rain) 500
1897 (similar to the year before) 600
Expenses for labor during these years would be about 7,000 rupees
(about $1,800 to $2,000). Present price of vanilla (June, 1897) in
London market averages about $6 (25s.) per pound. The currency here is
in Indian money--that is, rupees; nominal value of rupee, 1s. to 2s.,
but the actual value varies with price of silver and at present ranges
between 1s. 2d. and 1s. 3d.
The day begins at 6 a. m. and work continues until 5 p. m., or to
4 p. m. on some properties; 11 to 12 is breakfast time. Rough work
is quickest got through by giving “tasks,” when the negroes become
energetic.
Ordinary estate laborers are paid 12 rupees ($3.40) per month; women
for crop curing, etc., are paid 9 rupees ($2.60) per month; women and
children for flower fecundating, one-fourth rupee (7 cents) per day,
the “day” being when work is over, early or late. Vanilla packet tying,
2 rupees (58 cents) per 100 bundles of 50 pods each; vanilla measuring,
2 rupees (58 cents) for same quantity (5,000 pods).
Straight-stemmed palms, if stout, may be used for supporting the
vanilla vines. By driving hard-wood pegs into them obliquely at
suitable heights the vines can be hung about them as in tree forks.
When long vanilla cuttings are planted near blossoming time, some of
them often give flowers soon afterwards. It is best to cut these off,
as cropping a vine when newly planted lessens the growing power, and it
may hang for many months, but in a regular plantation vines flowering
too heavily may be relieved by cutting off one or more of the flowering
branches. These may be planted for the one small crop they will give--3
or 4, or up to 10 or 12 pods, according to length and vigor. For this
they may be planted close together on low bars and posts, and need
well-rotted manure for immediate and abundant nourishment. The best
time to plant for this is a few days before the first flowers open; if
cut earlier many of the flowers will die back.
Cropping branches may be allowed to flower for two years if they have
not missed a season, but never more than that, as the pods they then
give are invariably very inferior; the best are on young wood a year or
so old at flowering.
Prunings, when not too old, may be set out to rear new plants from.
When extending the plantations it is better to plant the shoots from
the prunings rather than the prunings themselves, if they are over 2
years old. If flung into jungle, especially among rough ground, rocks,
etc., where there is shade and decayed leaves, they grow in a wonderful
way without any attention and yield the best of cuttings. When shoots
are checked for cropping branches, some of their tendrils occasionally
elongate into aerial roots, and should then be cut off, or they will
keep the branch full of sap and hinder its flowering.
Short varieties of grass seem rather beneficial in a plantation;
cumbersome weeds should be hand pulled, never hoed.
During early crop gathering, before ripe pods are numerous enough to
make it worth while using the hot room, they are cured under blankets
in the sun, but have to be taken in at the hottest part of the day
if sunshine is continuous. This used to be the sole method of curing
here, and when used now gives excellent results in favorable weather;
but dependence upon the sun is risky, and on the whole the process is
cumbersome and costly. Hand trays, that can be piled up on top of each
other and carried between two men, are used to spread the blankets on,
a fold being below as well as above the pods, and these are supported
on low double rails to keep them clear of the ground. In unsettled
weather showers have to be watched for, and the trays carried under
shelter till the weather again becomes fair.
If there is a pinch for space in the curing house, pods in the hot room
may be spread two or three or more deep on the shelves and tumbled up
daily, i. e., such of them as are not taken off and re-sorted.
In mulching vanilla roots, and especially at crop time, the plants are
much more benefited if the mulch be of two sorts, well-rotted leaf
mold being put on first for immediate action, and above it a layer of
withered fern or the like, which decays more slowly. When heavy top
dressings of quick-decaying manure, grass, etc., have rotted down,
they get beaten away by rain, the network of roots becomes exposed,
and may with advantage be lightly covered with a thin sprinkling of
good soil. Obviously it is better to apply this before the roots become
bare or visible. The vanilla roots delight in twisting among stones,
large and small, and flattening against their lower surface when not
embedded in the soil. When these are of a convenient size and handy
in a plantation, the root circuit allowed to each vine may be ringed
with them. Vanilla may be grown on trees of thick foliage if these are
of a sort that will stand being well pruned annually. Wild cinnamon,
which gives dense shade, is sometimes used for this purpose, the
branches being nearly all cut off each year about pod-ripening time,
which also lets the sun get at the vines for flowering. The contrast
between former somewhat dense shade, which has grown since last branch
trimming, and the strong light let in by the pruning seems to help
toward blossoming.
Under large, high trees, wide apart, where to plant vines on other
small-growing wood between them would make the shade too close, vanilla
may be fixed on tripods of durable wood, the three stakes being tied
with wire crosswise, some little way from their top ends, so as to
furnish forks over which the vine creepers may climb. High up in the
hills here the plants may be grown in this way without any shade at
all, but the plan is only suitable for level grounds or moderate slopes.
SUMMARY.
The foregoing account of vanilla cultivation, being the outcome of
experience gained in the Seychelles alone, and there chiefly in
the hills, may need many modifications to adapt it to different
circumstances pertaining to other lands, and, indeed, possibly may be
of little use for such. For instance, in a drier climate irrigation
might be needful, and it would not be necessary with a reliable,
sufficient annual dry period to prepare vines for flowering by checking
their sap flow in certain branches, as it is in this colony. This is
not found necessary in certain districts where the rainfall is not
such as to keep plants growing continuously, for they stop growing of
themselves and come into flower without coaxing.
Again, under less favorable growing conditions the vines would need
more nutriment and attention to stimulate growth.
These and similar considerations which will suggest themselves to the
reader may serve to save a brief summary from appearing too dogmatic.
The following conditions of climate, method of growing, etc., appear
to the writer to be most favorable to the successful cultivation and
handling of the vanilla crop:
_Climate._--With shade temperature ranging about 80° F., never much
above or below it, and a humid, still atmosphere; a rainfall of 80 to
100 inches or more, evenly distributed through ten months in the year,
the remaining two months being dry, with occasional short and very
light showers--the ten wet mouths for continuous luxuriant growth, the
two dry ones to check it and bring vines into flower.
_Soil._--A skin of rich vegetable mold resting on a porous substratum.
Failing that, with the above climate, vanilla should do well on any
soil if the roots are kept covered with decaying vegetation.
_Situation._--Moderate slopes.
_Shade._--Small-leafed trees to let checkered sunlight through.
_Plants._--Cuttings 10 to 12 feet long of growing shoots, which should
not cease growing if planted after the dry season, but go straight on
and flower fully in two years.
_Planting._--Either in line on posts and bars, or on shrubs of suitable
size and leafage, at the risk of wholesale destruction from disease;
or plants well kept apart, each on its own support, so that any vine
showing signs of sickness may be removed before infecting its neighbors.
_Culture._--Plantations to be gone through bimonthly; shoots on the
ground looped up; climbing branches brought down; decayed leaves,
etc., laid on roots for manure when needed. Preparations for flowering
according to climate.
_Cropping._--Flowers to be pollinated in forenoon, preferably such as
will hang clear and grow straight pods; quantity regulated according to
mass and vigor of each vine, but not such as to hinder the start of new
growth for more than two or three months. Pods should be gathered every
other day.
_Curing._--The slower the better, beginning in a heated room at about
110° F. for some days, then in a cooler one, 90° to 100° F., finishing
at ordinary temperature; humidity of air kept down if need be by
charcoal braziers.
_Marketing._--Qualities and lengths kept distinct, made up in packets
of 50 pods, and neatly packed in tins holding about 12 pounds each.
_Labor._--Cheapness and intelligence are of the greatest importance
in vanilla production. The cultivator must himself have his eyes
everywhere; the best of labor known here deteriorates quickly if left
to itself.
[Illustration]
* * * * *
Transcriber’s note
Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice.
In this version, the illustrations are placed differently on the page
than in the original.
Spelling was retained as in the original except for the following
changes:
Page 6: “2. Plan of curing” “Fig. 2. Plan of curing”
Page 22: “and upon the whole” “and on the whole”
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