The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-02
A DELIGHTFUL TROPICAL FRUIT.
Some Interesting Facts About The Delicious
Banana.

The banana goes back to the earliest days.
AleXander's soldiers, as fliny says, joined
the sages of India seated in its shades and
partaking of the delicious fruit Hence the
name ''sapientum," given the plant which
likewise bears the name of Jupiter's fair
daughter Musa. Now IL has been shown
that the banana is Of Malayan origin How
did it get to India and to South America
and Mexico2 The feet of birds have borne
seed a full 10000 miles, while the cocoanut
foated well-nigh the world around in the
great ocean currents
But the banana has no seeds, nor II as it
casing like the globular cocoanut to float it
around over the waters. Then it must have
been carried by man. 1t is significant that
the Aztecs had traditions OF visits by Deopl @
from over the seas, while there was, to coz
firm it, al admixture of the religion of the
Brahmins in their own theology. Would
you think that the despised banana would
actually step forward to prove that, before
Columbus was, or Lief Ericsson even had an
existence, some swarthy deniZens Of the
Old World had migrated across the waters?
Manila rope is made in the Philippine
| Islands OF the stem of the banana. This
| stalk, which usually grows to be six inches
| in diameter, and from fifteen to twenty feet
| high, has very valuable fiber from which
| are woven beautiful textile fabrics. Many
| Of the finest India shawls and wrappers worn
| by ladies Of fashion are manufactured from
| this fabric.
So, too, an excellent article OF paper is
| made from it. But are no varieties OF ban
| anas wildp Yes, some have been found
in Ceylon, Cochin China and the Philip
| pines These, of course. have seeds, but
| they are inferior TO the long, cultivated
| varieties. The banana is cultivated by
| suckers, and its in this way that the literal
| plant psrpetuates itself indefinitely. In
| Central Africa you may find thousands and
thousands Of plants that literally have in
them the germ and life OF ten thousand
| years duration.
| The banana belongs to the lily family,
| aud is developed tropical lily, from which,
| by ages of cultivation. the seeds have been
| eliminated and the fruit for which it was
cultivated greatly expanded. In relation to
| the bearing qualities Of this fruit Hum
boldt, who early saw the wonders Of the
plant, said that the ground that would grow
| niuety-nine pounds OF potatoes would also
| grow thirty-three pounds Of wheat; hui
| that the same ground would grow 1000
pounds OF bananas, consequently the pro
ductiveness of the banana was to that oil
wheat as 1873 to and to that Of potatoes as Al
to 1. The banana possesses all of the essen
tials to the sustenance of life. The savage
of the sea isles and the jungle owes what hi
has of physical strength to this food.
| Wheat alone, potatoes alone, will not dt
this. When taken as steady diet it Il
ceoked-baked dryin the green state, pulpet
and boiled in water as a soup, or cut il
slices and fried. / do not know whose
beauty admire the most, the majestic cocoi
palm, with its heavy crown Of great fringet
leaves, or the graceful banana, with its grea
leaves, which are six feet long and two fee
wide.
The leaves Of the banana are tender, ant
the strong winds of the tropics-the burri
canes soon tear the leaves in stripes, there b,
adding to their grace and beauty. Tn
banana is fruit that beast and bird, a
l ali f,.l 1T 81
when he lives in sparsely settled county
must need protect his plantation by feuc
of some thorn plants.-Goldthwa Geo
graphical Magazine.