The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-05-19
THE BANANA TRADE.
HOW THE FRUIT IS GROWN AND
PUT ON THE MARKET.
What Constitutes a "Bunch"-Har-
vestinc the Fruit-"Horse Ba-
nanas'-Growers Bringing
the Fruit to Market.

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the Fruit to Market.
The traffic in bananas has grown enor-
mously in past years and it has become
one of the most important branches Of
the fruit trade. Millions of dollars of
capital are invested in it. The details
of the traffic and the manner in which
the bananas are grown are not generally
known, and as they are in many respects
interesting, the following facts relating
thereto, obtained from one who has had
personal experience in all stages of the
business for several years, may be worthy
of the attention of the reader.
The banana plant is dubious. The
sprout starts up from the ground and
grows somewhat after the manner of the
sugar cane. Generally in one year after
it begins to grow its fruit is ready to
cut. Each tree bears one bunch of fruit,
which grows at the top. The stalk is
really composed of successive layers of
leaves, formed by the top leaf coming off
and those around it also, which die and
dry up around the tree, thus making the
stalk. There are generally four or five
leaves always at the top, new ones
springing forth rs the lid ones die. The
leaves are of red color. The end of
the stalk blossoms in manner somewhat
similar to that of the Gala lily. This
blossom is exposed in pad almost the
size of cocoanut, which is composed of
succession Of leaves. AS the pod ex-
pands, the leaves drop off and under each
of the leaves is ''hand" of bananas, or
what we recognize as one of the clusters
on bunch of bananas The developing
of these successive 'hands' or layers of
bananas constitutes the bunch. AS these
successive layers are developed, the
bunch increases in wei ght and bends
over. When the bananas are fit to be
taken off, the tree is cut partly in two
about half way down the stalk, and then
bent over and the fruit gathered.
The tree is then bent back again into its
regular position. The tree is not COM
pletely cut off, but is thus bent back into
its former position for the purpose of pre-
venting the water in the rainy season
from going down into the roots and de-
caying them. After the rainy season
sprouts begin to shoot up from around
the bottom of the old stalk, and then the
latter is cut off close to the butt. These
shoots grow into new trees. Sometimes
there will be four or five shoots, but or
dinarily only one or two are left to grow.
The best banana land is on the west side
of hill or mountain, or on bottom land.
The banana tree needs considerable
moisture, and if on the east side of
hill the sun soon dries off the dew, and
the soil becomes dry. If on bottom land
the soil is enriched by the washings from
the hill, which makes the conditions
thus favorable to the growth of bananas.
These banana trees or sprouts are set out
in rows similar to peach trees, ten or
twelve feet apart. They require con-
siderable care. In bottom land, at q
distance of about every three rows, the
land is ditched, so that in the rainy sea-
son the soil will not become too wet.
There is no fertilizer used. If the season
is very dry the fruit ripens later, and is
smaller in size. Hurricanes, also, are
liable to blow the tree down. The soil
abounds in land crabs, which are similar
to the water crabs caught along the
shores of our bay. They are about the
size of the palm of the hand. They dig
holes in the ground around the roots
frequently, and thus hinder by destroy
ing them, the growth of the trees. The
red bananas require richer soil than the
yellow. When the red bananas cease to
grow or 'play out" as it is familiarly
termed, the pellow fruit can be cultivated
to advantage. The red banana is a
closer grained fruit. Scme persons say
that the red bananas are really bananas,
and the yellow ones are plaintains. But
the plaintain is altogether different
fruit from either. 1t is true that the
trees are similar, both as to their leaves
and their blossoms and the conditions of
growth, but the "hands' OF the plain
tain grow farther apart, the fruit grows
larger and the taste is tart, and they are
used only for cooking. Very few of them
come to this country. A banana and a
plaintain will sometimes mix, and the
result is fruit that is good for nothing.
This kind of fruit is ordinarily termed
"horse banana" Vinegar is made out
of ripe bananas by the natives of the
islands where they grow, and good foar
that will make fine bread is also pro-
duced from the green bananas. An
average bunch of bananas contains about
40. There arc some, however, that
have as many as $50.
Most of the yellow bananas come from
Jamaica, Asplnwall and the coast of
Honduras. The red bananas are only
grown to any extent on the cast end of
Cuba and are shipped from Baracoa.
Bananas grow mostly along the coast on
the north side of the island of Jamaica.
The principal shipping port is Port An
tome. The large fruit houses in the
United States and England have agents
there to attend to the purchasing
of their fruit. After a steamer has
started for Jamaica, about two or three
days before the expected date of her ar
rival there, these fruit houses send cable
messages to their agents informing them
as to when they may look for a steamer
and how much fruit they desire to have
purchased. The agent Immediately sends
out notices all through the country
where the fruit is grown that steamer
is expected on such day and telling the
growers to bring along their fruit. On
the arrival of steamer in Jamaica a
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