Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-08-29
Something Interesting About
The Luscious Banana
Resident Of the South Land Describes the Method or
Cultivation N honduras and Furnishes
GAinsps8s OF q Rare Land.

4 &&%&@ %&M&#H
\ ling pictures of the rests Of by-gon,
! power.
The raising Of bananas is a tropi
cal industry which gives the besr
profit 81 Alt agricultural investments
sLand III cheap, n can be bought d
leased and the planting and working
does not require machinery like coffe.
and many other tropical plants.
To start a plantation the virgin
forest Ii cut down completely, giani
mahagonics ana cedafs are thrown
down with the same indifference ii
the valuable black walnut was de
stroyed by the early American set,
tiers. After the sun has dried the
trees fire il set Al different places 10
the chaos and 4 A biz flames leaves
nothing behind hut huge atlimps, and
these IRE allowed to rot away.
Without amy further i sTAofNU
without any further cultivation
suckers IRE now planted In regular
SQUARES Soon \ 4talk grows out
which h about ten months bears one
bunch. Tho same root gives contin.
nously new Htalks which are cut down
at regular Intervals 50 That all plants
have q and light. Once planted
tle work IA only routine. rho weeds
nra kent down. III The fruit III nearly.
ripe the stalk IL cit of at the root
and allowed 10 rot where feiIed 10
give now nourishment To the plan
The bunch n carried 10 The ycssol
md sold Some plantations have
given - much aH ono thousand
punches 70 the aerc I'll one years
time. Such a harvest can only IL
expected whore tho SOIL il good and
too wet nor too dry and when
weeds are kept down conscien
ctoualy. Some plantations give out iii
eight 70 ten years and the plants
must be moved The rule III that 4
plantation on good eoil can last III
least fifteen 10 twenty years ana
much longer Near Trnxiilo aro ola
'allana patches which aro known to
been bearing over fifty years
md IN the forests near tho Aguan
'iyer i often happens That the hunter
meets Wild fruit Of full marketable
lie.
The prices of tho fruit varies, hit
nero WINS mover paid. In districts
70 the writer. less thnn fifty
'ents silver and the demand has oc.
%'aslonaiy pushed the price mp 70 s1.50
'llyef, per bunch: indeed Il profit
,qualled only N good mines and with
much lees risk.
II q plantation Is made In proper
SO than the wind cannot get
odd Of the plants there ii no loss
'hateyer, This Is done BY not clear.
ng NC plantation n one large field
nc IN good sized lots separated from
aeh other by rows OF large trees
'hieh are left untouched when the /.
Irst clearing Is done.
The banana as eaten here Ii Ger. .
q very nice fruit. but owing to
Tact That the cutting Ii done while
ie bananas are yet green. they cant.
OF compare with the delicious %flayor
! q banana ripenod In the tropics.
the natives The banana takes theI
laco o. the potato. and Ii used also
, fatten swine. They eat b%ananas
ookcd green with meat In SOM or
oasted ripe or green in hot ashes.
he Mosaito Indians live on nothlng
ut game and bananas. II
not only II the fruit III value m,t
fibros nf the loayes make stronr
and The finer flbres make f%lnol
of hstter gloss than ootton
nd the whole staf, has been success.
My worked M Tor paper pulp. Only
other flant offers such d y%ariety
I uses thn COCO palm, III which Wall
WI talk some other time; yet ii can.
OF he compared with The hanana ns