The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-21
COSTA RIGA
BANANAS
How the Fine Fruit is
Grown.
THE RIGHT KIND OF OILS
An Article of Special Interest to
Agriculturists in These
Islands.

The lands of the banana are not one
but many Before Revolutionary times |
Cuba shipped many hundred thousands |
of punches a year to northern markets /
and will yet do so again; and Jamaica /
has in the three parishes of Portland, |
ST. Mary and st. Thomas fifteen hun |
dred acres under banana cultivation. |
But the land of the banana is par ex-
cellence Costa Rica. From Costa RIGA |
come the best and largest bananas that |
are sold in the New York and New Or
leans markets, the punches weighing
from twenty-five to one hundred
pounds each. In 1896 about two million
punches were shipped from Port Linz
on, and the number for 1897 must have
reached three million.
The most famous banana district in
Costa Rica Is that of Matina. Once or
twice a year the Matina River over
flows its banks, bringing down with it
a vast amount of silt, which it dis
tributes over the low-lying lands to the
depth of several inches. This silt is a
fertilizer of the richest kind. 1t does
more than manure the land; it browns
out all the ENTHUSIASTICALLY ami
mails which are the worst of all pests
to the banana grower. In this district,
/ banana trees often reach a height of
thrty-five feet, height rarely attain
ed by this species elsewhere. The ba
mana grows best on the lowlands near
the sea and along the river banks. the
most productive farms lying from fifty
to three hundred feet above the sea-
level. Here in Costa Rica the land is
I
and after farm has been in bearing
for fifteen years, few plowings will
make it yield again like virgin soil. In
most cases the banana farms are not
plowed, the grass and weeds being cut
/ by the machete. But when the pillow is
used the expense of keeping the ground
clear is reduced one-half.
The preparation of banana farm is
an interesting sight. The land and it's
vegetation have a tropic splendor that
is fascinating to northern eye, and
the men engaged in the work present
an entertaining variety of human ma
ture.
When a piece of forest land is to be
planted in bananas, a gang of laborers
is first set to clearing away the under
brush-no easy task in such a cline.
Then with a long rope are measured
off rows six yards apart to be planted
with DISTRIBUTING from the banana
root. At six yards In the length of rope
is tied piece of red tape, and at every
piece of tape a stake is driven into the
ground to mark the holes to be dug for
the bits" The bits once planted,
the men are put to work with axes to
cut down the trees.
In sig months time the banana rows
must be cleaned; in ten months all the
weeds have to be cut down, and twelve
months after the bit" is set is obtain
ed the first crop, or cutting, as the
planters prefer to call it. On rich land,
such as is found along the Matina
River, the trees. producing fruit all the
year round, will keep on bearing from
thirty or forty years and will yield
four hundred punches a year to the
acre.
The banana farms are almost all
managed by foreigners, among whom
Americans and Germans predominant.
Next to the owner or manager comes
the Jamaican under-boas, a very i'm
portant person in his own estimation.
He generally wears a big silver watch
chain, revolver and a machete-a
combination whose air of mingled
wealth and business" he deems of
great assistance in the fulfillment of
his duty. That is to get all the work
he can out of the men. Last in the
scale come the laborers. Most of these
are Jamaica negroes, the native peon
of Costa RIGA being enable to endure
so well as they the hot, humid climate
of the lowlands. They do all the work
and, naturally, receive the least pay.
To the owner, the shipment of his
fruit is of course the most interesting
part of the work. When he receives a
notice to cut bananas he is allowed two
days time to collect the fruit and car
ry it out to the railroad, where it is
piled up on platforms to await the ar
rival of the banana trains. These are
composed of box-cars with wide open
ings between the rails to afford free
circulation of the air. On each train is
a receiver who counts the fruit and
writes a receipt for the amount he
takes in from the different farms.
Sometimes there are as many as four
trains out at once picking up bananas
to be carried to Port Limon for the
laulnS OF single New IOrk boat. For
this fruit the grower receives only thir-
ty cents gold for a large bunch and
fifteen cents for smaller ones. Yet even
at this price the business is a paying
one. The natural difficulties are few,
labor is cheap. and the results are larg-
er every year. Given the proper tenn
permanent and a physique capable of
bearing the heat and moisture the ba-
nana-planter's lot is not the hardest
known.
Although the planter receives what
seems such a ridiculously small sum
for the fruit, when one stops to think
that within weeks time thirty-cent
bunch will quite likely retail for ten
dollars in New York, yet his part of
the banana industry is far and away
the most sure financially. The planter
runs but very little risk. His crop is
almost as regular and sure as clock
work, while the shipper, on the other
hand, occasionally meets with severe
losses by the fruit decaying on the voy-
age. Unreasonable weather or a long