The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-31
rtCTs tBOUT BtN.iNAS.
why the Red banana Has Disappeared
Other Modern Phases of tho Trade.

Red bananas are 80 scarce nowadays as to
be practically a rarity. tho prevailing banana Ia
yellow Twenty years and more ago Inc rcd
was the prevailing banana and the yellow the rare
one The chang, from nd to yellow is due to
commercial reasons: the yellow banana is more
profitable
The yellow banana requires less care and limo
in tho cultivation and 50 costs less in that stage
IL sticks go the stem better than the red banana.
and So stands handling hotter. There arc
third more yellow bananas 10 the bunch than
red With all these marked advantages in IT'S
favor the yellow banana has practically driven
tho rcd banana out
With this great scarcity red bananas now hrng
fancy pticc. It may be ten times much as yellow
bananas With yellow bananas al 81 OF 81 80
q bunch red would hc worth from SO To- Sill, and
there would bc fewer IN 4 bunch. Red bananas
sell nowadaysin the fri; stores as high as 20
cents each, The comparatively few lunches
imported arc taken by dealers in fine and fancy
fruits as novelties the ragity, IN larg" measure.
determining the price. II might hc asked why,
with rcd bananas a. such prices more az" not
were raised the pric" would go down again. and
there would b. no profit IN raising Them for the
n~pns S"% red and n%
t" b" now IN Us ,SsrGy IKE SOM Other
gam" Some people prefer the flavor Of the rcd
banana rome prefer that ~ The yellow: II is prob
able that the great majority would have no choice
and the far lower pncc al which tho yellow banana
can b" offered To the individual consumer STILES
tho question,
bananas were never before 50 cheap as they
have b-cn in very recent wears. Formerly a
luxury that was rather costly than otherwise
The banana Ia now n cheap luxury: very good
bananas can now be- bought commonly In the
streets in the season Mt cent piece or 10 cents
n dozen. such Ms formerly cost two or three times
rs much. Formerly bananas wcrr brought Ia
this country in sailing vessels In slick fast sChoon
made quick rips: with adverse weather II long
continued. the cargocs rOttcd, Now bananas
arc brought by steam. in fast steamers built
prcinlly for the fruit trade, These steamers
may 81 course be held up by storms: but they
are not likely 10 be; commonly they land ear
goes here in a specified time and in the best aud
most suitab bic condition for handling and mar.
kcting 10 the best advantage and with the least
possible waste. and with advantage a. 10 even
ness 81 supply. The great hulk q the banana
pnny which banana importers have organized,
The bananas eaten IN this country come from
Costa Rca, British and Spanish Honduras
Colombia Jamaica and Cuba; that Is, from coun-
tries around the southern part Of the Gull Of Mexico
and around the Caribbean Sea. The bulk Of
The fruit from the Gulf countries goes 10 New
Orleans for distribution that from the other coun-
tries coming 10 Atlantic ports For many years
bananas have had more or less wide distrihi.
ton from the ports Of receipt but they were never
Al interior points as now. bananas are now
sold not az rarities. but more or less commonly.
in all parts of the country practically everywhere;
the eastern part Of the country being supplied
from Atlantic ports, and the Mississippi Valley
and the western half from New Orleans. Costa
Rica bananas are now shipped from New or,
leans over pretty much hll the western country,
10 the Pacific Coast.