The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-05-14
THE BANANA TRADE.
CHAT WITH THE FATHER OF THR
TRADE IN THIS COUNTRY.
First Schooner Load Brought to New York
I'm 1s5s-Looking for New Place
Of Supply-The Bananas
Growth.

LBalLlUQOre SUM-
Capt. George Bush, the supercargo Of
the Peyyeril is not only a veteran sailor,
but also the father Of the banana business
in the United States. Capt Bush
emigrated from Germany to this country
when he was quite young man. In an
interesting talk about the banana business
with a Sun reporter, Capt Bush said:
brought the. first schooner load of bananas
ever seen in the United States. sold
them to Gilmartin, in New York, in 1858.
People did not know what they were, and
my little cargo of 1, 100 punches over
stocked the market. / secured them in
Baracoa, Cuba Three years after that
cargo was landed in New York the trade
had developed so fast that it required
twenty-five or thirty schooner loads aloEe
70 supply New York In 1867 the trade
had grown SO enormously that began to
look around for other places to get
bananas. I had been to ports in Jamaica
after oranges in previous years, but
never for bananas.
I'm May, 1857, 1 sailed for Orc Cabeza.
Jamaica, In search of bananas. Arriving
there / found Capt. Jim Murdoch, quad
room native and Christian, the last quail
ity bring rare on the island. l told him
what l wanted, and he promised to buy
them for me. Bananas had no value
among the natives. They never ate them.
They were planted simply as a protection
to the coffee trees. The latter need pro.
lection from the sun. and the b mana trees
are planted in rows alongside them
Well, my friend Capt. Jim Murdoch
couldn't get me more than 700 punches of
bananas at Orc CabeZa, and l induced him
to sail with me to Port Antonio. Here !
found splendid land-locked harbor. with
deep water. Capt. Jim succeeded in buy
ing 1 600 punches Of bananas for me in a
short time. The natives were only too
glad to sell them at 6 to 10 cents a bunch.
The people were poor They had no
money. and very little to eat and no
clothing to speak of. paid $3.50 for my
cargo
@I-reaehed Boston in eleven days and
discharged 1, 120 punches of good ban
anas. For one very handsome bunch /
got S25, ard the man who purchased II
sold it In ten minutes for $50. Since that
time have been engaged in the banana
trade, and have seen the ports of Jamaica
built upland the people growing rich.
The natives don't spend much on their
living. Their wardrobe principally con-
sists of coffee sack, with holes for arms
and the head, and belted around the
waist with q rope. The other items in
their living stand obout in the same ratio
IN the matter of cost They do not invest
or bank their money. They know moth
ing of such things. They bury then
duQ uOdEQ oOA4C VI bnCAA dAV
quite rich.
"The banana tree is a species of the
palm. 1t requires very rich and moist
ground. 1t is porous, fibrons tree, and
attains from twenty-five to forty feet in
height. 1t is indigenous to the soil OF the
islands, where bananas abound. The
roots are planted in rows by the natives.
They soon shoot sprout about four feet
out of the ground. Then three or four
more appear at short intervals, until as
many as eighteen show above the ground
from one root. If all these are let grow
there win be no bananas. So all the
sprouts except two or three of the health
lest are destroyed. The sprout will ma
ture in ten to fourteen months.
"The first evidence of fruit is a brilliant
purple flower. This soon gives place to
innnmerable little bananas, which rapidly
grow to maturity. The next sprout comes
In bearing from three to four weeks after
the first, and others follow at regular in'
tervals throughout the year. Each sprout
bears one bunch of bananas, and is cut
down when the fruit is harvested. The
natives receive from 30 to rs cents per
bunch for bananas, according to size and
quality. y