Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-06-03
BANANAS FROM JAMAICA.
The Island Once Famous for Rum Now Fur
nshes the Fruit.

Aren't they beauties?" said the fruit
man as he pointed the reporter to a heap
Of golden bananas that lay in the corner
just as they had come in from shipment.
They're just in this morning and |
guess therell be a rush when the boys
hear I've got en- today. This is the ba-
mana season here, YOU know, ana folks
are buying en- to eat every day. The
orange has sort of gone out for now
by the way" suggested the reporter,
catching the siX-inch beauty the jobber
threw at him. where do these things
come from
You're a good man for the news busi-
ness, when YOU don't know where ba-
nanas grow, replied the merchant.
Don't you know that this stock comes
from Jamaica, where they used to make
rum? Well, you sit on that box over
there and while l trim up these lunches
Ill tell you a story for your paper
just to ill up with, you know
To-day the great product of the island
Is the banana. the cultivation of which
has grown to such enormous proportions
that the Boston Fruit Co., which controls
the banana trade of Jamaica, employs no
less than ~ steamers carrying bananas
and other fruit products of the island to
foreign ports. This company supplies the
entire Boston market with bananas, while
it sends to New York. Philadelphia and
Baltimore great part of the bananas
used in those cities. 1t gives employment
~ M less than % O00 men and women and
purchases the crops Of hundreds Of small
plantations owned by the natives on the
island. ne Boston Fruit Company has
added much to the prosperity of tho
island ~ the development Of their cnor-
nous traffic in fruit, and, Impoverished
~ the island is it would be far more 50
hut for the growth of the banana indus
trN.
women as well as men are employed
in The cultivation ana shipment OF the
banana. II may not be generally KNOWN
| mat j banana tree springs up like stain
of cnrn attains it's full growth. bears II
| .irala hunch of fruit, is cut down ana
DECAYS into a fertilizer all in the shor'
.nac,. of a single year At short DIS
,,p,o = field OF young banana suckers
,a,Ls ike a field Of corn. The plants arr
srt in regular rows and make very rapio
-,r,,,tb without much cultivation.
"Au bananas are picked and shipped
/ and IL IL IL ldildNS ~
| ,bo rruit of the banana tastes bet'eF II
t+a native habitat than after IL reache'
America. The pineapple has a richnes
,,I dclicacy Of flavor when gathered rlp'
/. Jamaica that is partially lost in snip
.i,1, !. Innn distances, but this IS moi tru'
| ~ the banana.
rbc harvesting of the banana crop Is
,.,r,. simnlc and easily accomplished proc
1,ha .roe is cut down with ma
obcto in the hand Of mucular olacN ma
~, icons the machcte and reaching Vi
| .a,os the single bunch OF bananas II
rr,s az the tree falls forward IT
,roe crows to a height Of out zen or L iee
- ,aol,s something like giant corn
'' ',- carts with mules attached 10 'hef
STAN, h,e,,,b the groves picking up tn
en,.,t and carrying it to the wharNes ~ ~
,, In some places there are Tram
ar.. running from the larger p'a"'a
..ions 10 the wharves. ,,.. j.
..rhe process of loading the bananas .
t,ts fs to an American ABOUT III
t'e ....aroetins feature of the banana III
mos r i here that the black wome
uos ~ island come forward ana d. so'i,
q 'iio ,,so the men to stand ASIDE a
pot's, tybile they load the boats her
tosethe. hing as the new woman !
Jamaica.