Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1906-05-18
HOW BANANAS ARE oeowN.

In the ordinary application of the word at
all, but tight roll of leaves which pushes
upward, at the same time unfolding the
delicate green bananas to form it's leafy
crown. This is quite ornamental at first,
but wind and rain soon whip the tender
leaves to shreds, leaving but mass Of
ribbons to rustic in the trades. The base .
Of well-grown plant presents a bulb
like appearance, and will carry from one
to three or more knoblike excrescences,
which are termed buds" or eyes" They
develop upward first, and after throwing
out several leaves soon grow independ-
ent roots, so that they may be severed
from the parent plant without injury.
These are the suckers" and form the
planters chief capital. He sets them out
in two-foot holes spaced fifteen to eight
cen feet apart until his field is covered,
and then rests once more to await further
Developments, which nature is not slow
in supplying.
The rapidity of development from the
newly planted sucker to the tree in full
bearing is little short of marvellous, and
can be appreciated only by one who has
witnessed it. Within a space Of six or
seven weeks the two or three foot plant
has more than doubled in size, and a
month or so after this the leaves cease
to unfold. and a spike appears out of the
centre Of the crown: this is the future
stalk of the bunch and carries a huge
red blossom at its end. II develops rapid
ly, continually bending more and more,
until in a short time II has turned conn
pletely upon itself, so that the bananas
grow end up or in a position the reverse
Of which they are usually hung here. At
irregular intervals along the entire stalk,
and only extending part way round it at
any place, the bracts break forth-tiny
ridges of the flower which are almost inn
mediately replaced by nine to IL or Is en-
bryo bananas. These are the future
hands" of the bunch, so called from their
resemblance to that member when held
in a certain position, and are separable
from the stalk without disturbing their
Individual components. 1t is by means Of
these hands that the fruit is classified
for shipping. A bunch of nine hands or
over, the average being ten to twelve,
constitutes a first" between seven and
nine second" anything under this
minimum being discarded by an inspector
at the wharf. The writer has seen
punches of seventeen hands, but this alb
normal size is equally unfit for shipping,
owing to the inconvenience Of stowage
in the steamers hold.
After having put forth ten to twelve
bracts, the stalk continues to grow and
develop the latter. These however, are
sterile, but by a wise provision of nature
serve to fertilize their neighbors on other
trees through the medium of the hum
ming birds, which abound on the banana
farms. When ready for cutting, the stalk
and original blossom extend two to three
feet beyond the bunch. The spike bearing
this gaudy flower appears when the tree
has reached a height of ten or twelve
feet, but this varies greatly with the
locality, unusual fertility of soil, such as
is afforded by the alluvial river bottoms,
being productive of an abnormal amount
of trunk and leaves, but unattended with
a corresponding increase in the fruit.
Ten to eleven months after the suckers
are placed in the ground the punches are
ready for cutting, and 1t is here that
another peculiar feature of which the
banana apparently has a monopoly be-
comes evident. Practically nine persons
out Of every ten say. How much better
a banana must taste when allowed to
ripen on the tree!" But the contrary Is
the case, because the fruit will not mature
to perfection on the tree; the skins burst.
attracting innumerable insects and birds,
and the weight of the bunch itself be-
comes too great for the tree, either one
or both coming to the ground. So the
punches are cut when the fruit is half to
three-quarters full, 1. e., matured, though
still green and hard, according to the
length of the journey it is to undergo.
1t continues to feed from the cut stalk,
which contains a great amount of sap,
until fully ripe, but should the cutting
have occurred too soon, while the fruit
will turn yellow, it will -nsver attain the
flavor or softness or flesh requisite.
With the cutting of the bunch ends the
life of the tree, for 1t bears but once and
is usually cut down to obtain the latter,
or succumbs few days later to the clean
ing process, which is merely bringing the
spent trees to the ground. new tree
springs from the centre Of the old stump,
and thus there is an everlasting success
sion without further effort on the part
of the planter
At the end of the third year banana
| farm is well developed, and there are at
least four trees where but one was set
| out, so that with even a moderately small
acreage fruit may be cut practically every
week in the year. and the income is con-
tinuous.
To the average northerner the banana
| is but a fruit, seldom eaten in any other
manner than raw. TO the native Of the
tropics it is a multuin in parvo often his
entire sustenance for weeks at a time, his
daily bread, and the uses to which he
puts it are innumerable. Taken in toto,
| dipped in I've and afterward dried in the
| sun, it becomes a moldy, shriveled, and
most unlovely-loolxing morsel, but thus
| prepared it will keep indefinitely, and is
instantly ready for use by peeling and
baking or boiling, whereupon it expands
to two or three times its original size,
and forms palatable food. This is a prac-
tice of the mountain natives of Nicaragua,
and it forms a large part of their diet,
supplemented by the inevitable "tortilla, -
when on their travels. When almost ripe
the fruit is cut into slices and placed in
the sun, which causes certain amount
of it's sugar to crystalline on the surface
thus prepared it is an excellent conserve.
Baked, boiled, or fried in cocoanut oil, 1t
is a staple article Of diet the year round,
and the last named Is quite a delicacy,
particularly fried plantains.