The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-05-26
SHIPPING BANANAS.
How the Favorite Fruit is Handed
and Received


and Received
From the New York Sun.
.'That looks like being in civilization
again"
The speaker was one of the largest
dealers in foreign fruits in America, and
the remark was caused by the sight of a
huge truck load of bananas standing in
front of Barclay street warehouse. The
big green punches not only filled the
body of the truck, but they were piled
high in the air, like young load of hay.
Il have just come from the banana
countries, where one of those punches
would make load That makes me APP
preciate this wholesale way of handling
| them all the more. 1t is the same thing
with all kinds of loads in all the hot
countries. Twenty horses or donkeys
and fifty people spend day in getting
few tons of cargo to the steamer, and
when it reaches New York one of our
big trucks takes it up in one load, and
the horses trot with it. Those are Jamai-
| ca bananas, and the way bananas are
handled there would make pretty pie
| ture, but there is no business in it,
"How are they handled in Jamaica"
"Well, there is a big warehouse ON the
wharf divided into large bins for the diff
ferent kinds and qualities. In front of
the warehouse is broad platform and
at the other end of the platform the
steamer lies. There must be at least one
steamer leaving every week and there
should be two, for the green punches are
constantly coming in. There is a colored
family, well say, living ten miles back
in the country with little patch of
land, perhaps half an acre. Here few
orange trees are growing, and bananas,
sugar apples and perhaps cocoanut
tree or two. When a bunch of bananas
is ready to cut, Sambo mounts it on his
head and trudges off to the warehouse
with it and receives fifteen, twenty, per-
haps thirty cents, according to the size
or quality His neighbors are doing the
same thing and the roads are full of
Sambos with punches of bananas on
their heads. Those who are rich enough
to own a donkey and cart take two or
three punches at time. Some fellow
who lives up lagoon or up little river
brings down two or three punches in
dug out canoe. There is a constant pro-
cession of these people, all with punches
of bananas and hardly any single load
worth as much as dollar
In this primitive way the bins are
filled up, When the ship is ready to
load plank platform is slung half way
up her side, on which two men stand to
receive the punches and pass them
aboard. Then twenty or thirty colored
men and women begin carrying the
punches from the warehouse to the ship,
always on their heads. Quite as many
women work at this as men, and some
times they are all women. A manis sta
toned about the middle of the wharf
with sharp machete or cutlass, and all
the leaders, must pass close by this man.
The punches come in with long stems,
and as the leaders pauses Il moment be-
fore him he cuts off the stems with one
blow of the machine. In short time he
is standing knee deep in stems, and a
colored gentleman comes out and shows
els them overheard. A clerk stands by
to count the punches as they go aboard,
and the monotonous 'one, two, three,
four, tal-l-ee' of the men on the plat
form continues for hours and days. This
makes an odd scene by daylight; at
night, by the light of the torches, it is
VERDI
but these punches are ell green,a it
was suggested. ''They must have an en-
tirely different flavor when cut ripe
mot at ALL" was the answer: "banan-
as are always cut green-never allowed
to ripen ON the trees. This is the one
tropical fruit that the New Yorker gets
in exactly the same condition as the West
Indian planter gets it.. AS the banana
tastes here, so it tastes in Jamaica. in
Cuba, in Costa RIGA, wherever it is grown.
But in those countries white people will
not eat those large varieties; they prefer
the small fig banana, which has more
delicate flavor"
"a number of Americans have spent
prospective millions in banana culture,
and have gone to warm countries to try
it. Do you know of any p he was asked,
"who have been successful at it?'
''In raising bananas he replied: "Any-
body can raise bananas in a hot country.
They will grow themselves if you let
them alone. But you mean successful
in making money? l know of only one
American who has made money in the
business and he has wealthy company
to back him. He operates on the north
shore of Jamaica and ships from Port
Morant and Port Antonio, his company
owning the vessels. But he buys from
everybody, and he has made more money
out of shipping than ont of raising.
What chance has an American in bust
ness where he must compete with 10000
colored men who can live on ten cents q
day."