The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-05-14
4 Banana Farm.

plantations of Mississippi, the sugar
plantations Of Louisiana, the rice plan
tatlons of southern Georgia, and per-
haps the corn plantations of Illinois, or
the wheat plantations of Michigan, ard
possibly the potato plantations of New
jersey, the tobacco plantations Of Con-
necticut, the cranberry plantations of
Rhode Island, or the hop plantations of
Maine-bat have you ever seen a full
grewe banana plantation, with it's thou
sands of gigantic plants, laden with
rich clusters OF matured fruit2 If not,
a grand sight awaits you.
The banana is strictly a tropical
plant, and is extremely sensitive to cold
or frost. Eli attempts to domesticate
1t IN this country, SO as to render its
cultivation upon large scale profitable,
have, until a recent period, proved
practical failures. And il is only in the
extreme southern portions of Louisiana
and IN certain portions of Florida that
any success has, no TO this time, been
achieved, and, IN these localities, want
of more perfect knowledge of the plant
and experience in its culture have caused
many disasters.
The most perfect banana plantation,
perhaps, upon tha soil of the United
States ia that of Col, Whitner, near Sill
yer lake. THIS plantation covers an
area o. several acres, and contains over
ten thousand plants, most Of them in
bearing. The plants ere OF different
varieties, SOnee CT them are huge trees,
twenty feet high, with trunk from six
TO olght inches in diameter, while
others and PROBABLY the largest number,
are of the celebrated dwarf species.
standing from six to eight feet high,
with trunk from four to Eve inches in
diameter. The banana, as cultivated in
this climate, bears no visible seed, but
it is prOpagated from slips or cuttings
which bear transplanting we'll, and grow
with great rapidity. These slips are
generally planted about eight feet apart,
If it is the dwarf species, an acre of
ground will contain from 900 to 700
plants. They require deep rich soil
and considerable moisture. 1t has no
season, but the fruit natures generally
in from eleven to thirteen months from
date OF planting, and by properly timing
the planting. ripe ffuiG may be OBJ
tanned at FL seasons of the year. The
cuttings once planted, first develop two
leaves tightly rolled together, which
grow to a height of three or four feet,
when the blades begin to unfold one
after another, into great broad leaves,
the stems forming 1 smooth trunk,
which grows TO the size of large apple
tree, composed entirely of these con-
centric leaf stems or petals. In about
eight or nine months, according to the
warmth OF the season, a deep purple
bud peeps out just at the point of
divergence of the upper leaves, and
soon pushes itself into full view, its
frightening stem bending under the
weight of p rple blossom, shaped like
pointed egg.
Soon leaf of this blossom opens at
the pointed end, and rolls back to the
base, disclosing a row of fitn OF six tiny
bananas, nestled close together, as if
hiding cnuer the shelter of this protect
Ing leaf. Each miniature fruit has a
waXen yellow flower at the end, with a
stigma projecting through it. Other
leaves of the blossom unfold one after
another, III the same way until twenty
or thirty clusters of fruit are developed,
ell clinging to one stem, when these
leaves wither and fall, and the fruit
swells and lengthens to maturity, which
requires generally aboHt three or four
months. The great stem on which the
fruit grows bends under its weight until
the long, fnger-like fruit hangs down
in graceful clusters.
Each plant bears but single bunch
of fruit. and then withers and dies, but
while the fruit is maturing there springs
up from the base of the trunk several
ofTsboots, which take the place of the
old plant when that has been removed.
and go on growing to the full size of
the parent tree.
The fruit, when grown full size, be-
gins to show streaks of yellow upon its
deep green skin, when it should be
gathered for shipment to market, as it
is easily and quickly ripened after cut
ting by wrapping the bunch in straw or
in blanket and keeping it in q warm
place.
Col. Whitner has upon his plantation
thousands of punches, in all stages of
development, from the little miniature
buds to the well-maturGd fruit, six or
seven inches long. Many of those
punches contain one hundred and TWEEN
ty-fve bananas, which sell readily to
shippers for two cents each, from which
may be inferred the great profits of
banana culture.
1t is not generally understood that
the banana makes -ery nutritious food.
But if cut into strips and dried, and
then pounded into paste and baked, it
forms very palatable diet. 1t is said
TO be the staple food of some of the
Mexican tribes, who use the young
shoots for green's. The tough fiber of
the leaf has in some parts of the world
become an article of merchandise, and
is sold in large quantities to he manu-
featured into textile fabrics, some of
which are of great beauty and highly
priced. Banana culture is in it's infancy
IN this country, but it opens such a field
for profitable investment that it is prob
able that the day is not far distant when
vast portions of the now unoccupied
territory, bordering the upper St.
Johns, will be cOver5d with the beauti-
fUl banana plant, ard the Florida banana
will be as we'll known and as highly
priced As is now the Florida orange.