The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-08-29

cdIcneS under the nap Wn1cn keeps
the pollen from coming in contact with
the stigma. The flap is raised along
with the stick till it lies. fat against
! the upper part of the column, Gig. 49,,
being held in that position by the bit
of wood. The stamen. at first raised
along with the flap, now falls down
again into it's original position, and
the flap being out of the way, the
pollen comes into contact with the
f, 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/ withdrawn, the operation is complete.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.
D., The pod is taken near the stemend
between the thumb and forefinger,
twisted from right to left and pressed
aside with the thumb. Attached pieces
of fiower-stalk are later cut away, but
breaks or cracks in the pod itself. rank
1t 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: 1, ripe and perfect; 2, unripe
but perfect; 3, split; 4. spotted, or. hav-
ing black points or pieces of flower
stalk attached; 5, curved pods. At
tached pieces of fiower-stalk must be
carefully cut away and black points
should be removed. The curing should
begin when a 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
have 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 a small
outlay for buildings and produces
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
a BILE sweatbOxes are made Of wood.
They should be feet deep, , feet long
and from 16 to IS inches wide and have
a detachable co, er. y supply of mats
and dark colored wooden blankets must
also be provided.
Curing. on a clear warm day, when
the platform is dry and warm, mats
are spread evenly on the floor Of the
platform and covered with dark col
ored blankets. The mats and blank .
cts are previously hung out in the sun.
At $50 or 10 a. 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
be too warm to be held in the hand
The more quickly the sun heats the
fruit and the warmer they get, the