The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-17
TROPICAL FRUITS.
From the st. Louis Republic.

From the st. Louis Republic.
l.cIween tive and six million punches
of bananas are sold in this city every
year, and though st. Louis consumes
the bulk of these, great deal is
shipped to points between here and
San Francisco. The big warehouses
in which this fruit is stored and brought
to maturity before selling and shipping
are located along North Third street.
A ramble among these brings out many
interesting points, not only about the
methods employed in handling and
ripening bananas, but deal of other
tropical fruit.
Bananas for the st. Louis market
come from points in British Honduras,
Jamaica and the islands of the south
ern Atlantic ocean. Port Limon, Boco
del Foro, Port Antonio, Araranca and
the Blue Fields of Nicaragua are the
greatest producers.
The bananas grow on great planta-
tions, and as they are cut are carried
on the backs and heads of natives to
the big vessels which are engaged in
the business of transporting tropical
fruits to the United States. The fruit
is green when loaded into the hull OF
the vessel, and care must be taken. not
only in loading the cargo in the vessels
hold, but also in preventing, by the
use of ventilation, any sweating process
that would arise if the hold were al
lowed to grow warm
In this green state the fruit intend
ed for ST. Louis and points on the Mis-
sissippi is loaded on boats or cars at
Mobile and near New Orleans. From
the landing stages where the boats ar
rive. or from the freight shed, It il
hauled in huge express wagons to the
warehouses already mentioned. and in
front of these any fine day when car
go of bananas is being received the
scenes are truly interesting.
As the big trucks, loaded with their
precious freight, pull up before the
doors hundreds of Italian peddlers,
ragged urchins and negro women
scram BILE for such of the fruit as, hav-
ing ripened on the punches. may fall
to the sidewalks, and the scenes that
follow the scuffie are amusing in the
extreme.
Now that the,fruit has arrived safely
at its destination it requires even more
of an outlay of watchfulness and ex-
perience to prepare it suitably for the
market The lunches are carried tc
long dark rooms where steam pipes or
gas stoves keep the temperature at
different degrees of heat, varying from
fifty to seventy-ive degrees Fahren.
heit. The finer formed punches, bear
ing the larger class of fruit, are hung
on the bottom racks, while the smaller
sized go to the top because the heat
rises and concentrates along the cell
ings of these rooms, thereby giving
greater force to the small fruit, which
ripens more slowly than the larger sort
The orders that come in for bananas
usually state the stage OF ripeness in
which the buyer desires the frui,
shipped to him The packing must be
done very carefully. as it is without
doubt the most tender of all tropical
fruits to handle
First. the punches are placed in big
paper bags and these are then dipped
IL ~ NSSCo WAN - o~-S
as still further protection against the
changes of tempature. In this packing
they are easily shipped to the most dis
tant points in the country.
Aspinwall was at one time the great
est port for the shipment OF this fruit
TO the United States, but since the Pa
cifc Fruit Transportation Co. ceased
operating their line of steamers, this
business has fallen away altogether.
Oranges of every scrt-navel, tanger-
Inc and grape fruit-are plentiful IN
these great stock-rooms. and the sup
ply is usually drawn from Florida, al
though California Is ca lied upon at
times. OF the Florida fruit the best
comes from Citra, Leesburg, Orange
Bend on the Indian river, Tampa, Gaines
vile, Emerald island and points in
the south and southeast Of the state.
Taugerines and grape fruit-kid-rlore
oranges, as termed By the fruit deal
ers-sre comparatively new IN this
market and are little known. though
In the far south The cooks Use them IN
delightful salads. u.armaiades ard
cake dressings or puddings- They are
higher grade in flesh. favor snd price
than the Florida oranges and are nsu-
ally packed mere carefully IN their
wooden cases, The long gray Spanish
moss that was formerly used in paca-
ing is done away with By paper, tinsel
and tissue sheets.
4 few lemons are received from the
Pacific slope, but the greater portion
are imported from points along tire
Mediterranean sea. and especially