Part 2
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.