The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-09-01

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catches under the flap which keeps
the pollen from coming in contact with
the stigma. The flap is raised along
with the stick till it lies fiat against
the upper part of the column, Gig. 13),
being held in that position by the bit
of wood. The stamen, at first raised
along with the flap, now falls down
again into its original position, and
the flap being out of the way, the
pollei. comes into contact with the
stigma, and 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withdrawn, the operation is complete"
/ Harvesting. The fruit reaches matu-
rity to months after the flowers are
pollinated. The pods become hard,
| thick, turn greenish- yellow, and a
slight bruising sound is audible when
the ripe pod is pressed between the
fingers. To prevent splitting, pods
should be gathered the day they ripen.
The pod is taken near the stem-end
between the thumb and forefnger,
twisted from right to left and pressed
| aside with the thumb. Attached pieces
of flower-stalk are later cut away. but
it as inferior in quality. Pods picked
before maturity are deficient in per-
fume and more subject to fungus
growth.
The gathered pods are spread out
and exposed to the air for "a hours.
During this time they are sorted as
follows: l, ripe and perfect; 2, unripe
but perfect; 3, split 4, spotted, or, hav-
int ut
stalk attached; 5. curved pods. At
tached pieces of hower-stalk must be
carefully cut away and black points
should be removed. The curing should
begin when n sufficient quantity of
vanilla has accumulated as otherwise
the pods would split or become mouldy,
Vanilla is prepared for the market
in various ways. The best results
nave been obtained in Mexico. All
methods have been carefully studied
and the results compared at this Sta
ton. a modification of the Mexican
method is recommended as a result of
these Investigations This method is
based on scientific principles, is simple
in application, requires but small
outlay for buildings and produces a
finished article of superior quality.
Buildings required A platform must
be constructed. This may be made of
stone, coral or cement. should slope
slightly towards the south and be pro-
tected from the wind by a wall run
ming east and west. This wall should
be whitewashed to reflect more heat
onto the platform. A drying house |
must be built This should be provided |
with shelves on which the cured vanil- |
la is laid out to dry, also with stands |
where trays loaded with vanilla may
be arranged one above the other. Port
able sweatboxes are made OF wood. |
They should be feet deep, 2 feet long
and from l6 to is inches wide and have 4,
n detachable cover A supply of mats
and dark colored wooden blankets must
also be provided.
Curing, on clear warm day, when
the platform is dry and warm, mats
are spread evenly on the floor of the
platform and covered with dark coll
ored blankets. The mats and blank
cts are previously hung out in the sun.
At $3.50 or 10 n. m. the vanilla is spread
out quickly and carefully. The first
row Is started along the wall, the
pods laid evenly without touching one
another, the stem end farthest from
The wall. The pods are left in the sun
until thoroughly heated-they should
De too warm to be held in the hand.
The more quickly the sun heats the
'ruit and the warmer they get, the ,
better II is. The sweatboxes and dark
'olored blankets are set out in the sun,
md must be warm when the vanilla
has reached the proper stage. This
should be not later than Q p, m. The
blankets are used as lining and the
'dges hang over the sides of the box.
The heated pods are taken up by hand
uls and laid in the boxes, stem end
inside, care being taken to put the
'olored pods at the bottom. The green
mes are laid on over these. The box (
must be filled as quickly as I
possible, the overhanging blanket edges n
ire covered over the contents and
'nough warm blankets added on top
o completely nil the box. When the |
over is securely fastened the box is /
arried TO the drying house and left
4