The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1895-02-05
THE BANANA TRADE.
ITS REMARKABLE INCREASE IN
NEW YORK.
Big Steamships Bring the Fruit From
Spanish American Ports-Unload-
Ing the Bananas and Disposing
of Them to Vendors.

& is on the wane in New York?
The banana has undisputedly taken
its place first, on account of its trop-
ical flavor and solidity, and second,
because it is cheap and because there
are two crops year, so that it is OBJ
tainable during ten months in the
year.
The increase OF the banana trade
in this city has been at the rate of
thirty-three per cent. each year over
the preceding one for the past dozen
years. This seems almost incredible,
but the statement is nevertheless true,
figures of the manifests of incoming
vessels from the Latin Republics,
where the greater portion of this fruit
is obtained, clealy show.
In fact the banana trade has grown
to such proportions that towns of
mushroom growth containing over
5000 inhabitants have sprung MP in
different tropical localities where there
Is practically no other business.
Formerly the plant was utilized main.
Iva shade for the coffee shrub.
One of the most phenomenal towns
of the kind referred to Is in the State of
Panama, in the Republic of Colombia.
This place is called Bocas del Toro and
is sixty miles up the coast north of
the city of Colon, formerly known as
Aspinwall. Here the soil is so rich
and moist that the banana grows so
prolifically that the lunches ordin-
arily bearing in other countries from
lou to l75 separate bananas here reach
the maximum of 800 of "big yellows"
on single stem, which is big
shoulder load for the burly native.
Five large steamers leave Bocas del
Toro weekly for New Orleans laden
with this fruit solely, while every two
weeks one steamer of line started
especially for the business, besides, at
least forty clipper schooners, weigh
anchor for New York City.
The steamers bound for New Or
leans, of course, supply all the lower
Mississippi country, but the greater
proportion of the fruit that reaches
this port is consumed right here.
Philadelphia and Boston, like the
Southern coast towns, get their own
supplies by water direct from the
growers.
A visit to one of the big iron steam
ers from Bocas del Toro unloading "a
cargo composed solely of bananas is
well worth the trouble. From out
the matches, fore aud aft, three or four
streams of yellow and green are making
their way. Here there are no long
shoremen's hooks nor ponderous der
ricks. The lunches are so delicate
that they must be handled with care,
so lines of men are formed from each
open hatchway to the vessels rail.
Large mattresses or cushions are
utilized on which to rest the lunches
when they are passed up. They are
seized in turn by the deck workers,
who struggle under their loads. Some
times 200 men are thus employed on
one vessel, and who can clear it of
$4,000 punches in less than four hours.
No skilled labor is employed, yet,
with the assistance of four or five
overseers, the work is accomplished
without a great deal of loss.
When steamer is being unloaded
curious set of visitors appear.
Crowds of Italians, who are licensed
vendors of fruit, swarm about the
companionways, while hungry ur-
chins are scooting here and there, all
on the lookout for the landing of
broken ripe bunch. These big vel
lows are often SO far advanced that
the stem is not strong enough to hold
them, and they tumble promiscuouslv
off, and are grabbed up in "A jiffy 5y
the expectant youngsters standing
about, who devour them eagerly. You
observe also Sisters of Charity, in
their somber-hued robes, carving
huge baskets, which they have brought
to fill with the very ripe fruit for the
inmates of hospitals and other charit-
able institutions from whence they
hail. They are generally given all
they can carry and go away happy.
Large quantities Of the ripe fruit
are sold to the Italian push-cart men.
and also to the loud-mouthed hawk
ers. lunches bearing $50 bananas.
and even more, are sold as low as
twenty-five cents, but when the hawk
er takes them he knows full well that
he must unload his stock quickly. ms
1t will otherwise spoil on his hands.
After the vessel is unloaded of the
salablo fruit, there still remains in the
hold, as well as between decks, vast
amount of smashed end rotten refuse
of the cargo. Men wearing rubber
boots shovel the stuff together and
throw it ont on the dock. Then the
decks and ships sides are scraped, aud
then the hold is SCALED out with live
steam.
The planters at Bocas dol Toro get
from forty TO soventy-fve cents
bunch for the fruit. The latter price
is little above that of the other ports
from where bananas are shipped. for
the reason that the punches contain so
much greater percentage of fruit.
The lunches that are in primo condi-
ton bring Sl.50 here on the pier,
while the inferior grades are sold all
the way down from this figure.
The red bananas have almost entire
~ been superseded by the yellow on
account of the very perishablo charac-
ter of the former in transportation.
nearly fifty per cent. being often lost.
The yellow fruit is much hardior. and
will stand quite deal OF cold weather.