Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-15

Adam saw the mystery OF tne reQemp tlon OF
the Cross But great change has come
ern latitudes. They not only see in the
banana one of their chief articles of diet,
but also great source of profit. Not so
very many wears ago one of the most enter
prising spirits of Costa Rca tried the ex-
pertinent of sending some of the punches
gathered from the plants between the rows
of his coffee shrubs to the markets of this
country The returns we're enormous. He
found there was as much profit in bananas
as in coffee production, and from that time
until the present banana plantations have
been on the increase all over the West
Indies, Central and South America.
To-day there is scarcely hamlet in the
United States where bananas are not to be
found at all times of the year. Most of
them come from the West Indies and from
Central America, but Mexico, the Sand
wich Islands and Tahiti furnish the supply
for the Pacific Coast States. An expert in
the market has no difficulty in telling from
the appearance of the fruit where it grew
For instance, if the "fngers" as they are
called, are long, round and yellow, he
knows they grew either in the West Indies
or Central America; if they are more or
less angular, they were produced on Tahiti
or the Sandwich Islands; if they are of
DrlSnC orange cOlOr, udG anu sOIneIHlng Oh
the shape of the 'lady fingers" manufact-
ured in bake shops, they come from Egypt;
if they are red, they come from the West
Indies or Venezuela, and if they contain
seeds, they were imported from the coast of
Arranca.
Some OF the Choicer Variety.
Of all these varieties, that imported from
Egypt is the best in flavor, although there
is small variety that grows in China that
is excellent, but it never finds it way to the
United States The plant on which this
variety grows seldom reaches more than
or 6 feet in height and its leaves are
of silver color, while the fruit has an
aromatic smell and flavor. There is also
variety grown in Venezuela and Brazil that
is excellent. The fingers are much smaller
than those found in market here, but they
have vinuous flavor that makes them so
highly priced that as yet none have been
produced for export.
The banana plantation in bloom is not
exactly as handsome as a rose garden, but it
is an interesting sight. In Cuba, where con-
siderable attention has been paid to the cul-
ture of this fruit the plantations have been
laid out systematically. 1t was found that
better results were obtained by placing the
plants Is feet apart each way, so that
there are now vast groves of bananas
laid out as regularly as are the orange
orchards of Southern California. Some of
the plants are always in bloom, while others
have the fruit in all stages, from the very
y oung green article to the golden colored
ripe punches that weigh all the way from 80
to $50 pounds.
The buds and blossoms are huge affairs.
w hen the plant reaches the proper age, a
single stem shoots up in the middle until it
C xtends q couple of feet above the point
where the leaves separate. The end of this
stem gradually swells until it resembles a
huge rosebud, and its weight causes the
stalk to bend gracefully to one side. gener-
ally the east Then the bud bursts open
and discloses in its purple center a red stem
on which are miniature hands A few days
later the ends Of the fingers bloom with a
small yellow flower, and when these drop
off the bananas form, the central stem be-
coming the stem of the bunch tnat after
ward develops.
Sou h Americans Cook the Fruit.
There is a mistaken idea that the plantain
is an entirely different fruit from the banana
1t is not; but it is rather of coarser na-
ture. 1t is excellent eating, however, in
the manner in which it is served by the
South. Americans. There it is fried in
slices to crisp brown and is really deli
cacy.
The people of the United States know
very little Of the delights of the banana as
q cooked article Of food. In fact, it scarcely