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.)