The Washington herald., 1908-07-27


was king in the island. and men Of high
and low degree, whether white OF black.
were his subjects Then came she free
ing Of the slaves and the legislation
abroad which made the growing Of sugar
UnprOftabie. The price Of sugar dwindled
down 10 almost nothing where once there
was q fortune IN its growing. and the
island was one the verge OF ruin. Then
came along a Yankee skipper. knocking
about IN q little ninety-ton schooner. Call
ing a. some OF the ports on the eastern
end OF the island. his keen eye looked
with interest upon the bananas that were
SO pIentlfuIIy offered him Knowing the
taste the Americans were fast acquiring
for this wholesome fruit. a rarity IN his
home markets. lie set about % devise a
way 10 get il 70 american ports n good
shaDe- That skipper was Capt I. D.
Baker. Of Boston. PurposefuL possessed
Of that quiet determination which rec0g-
nizes obstacles only 10 overcome them. he
went TO work 10 develop . new Industry.
and slowly but surely built up the banana
trade. Steadily the number Of vessels ta-
creased The native labor was unreliable
50 coolies from India were brought over
by the British government 70 aid IN the
cultivatiop OF the fruit
The business prospered. Il was incOr-
porated as the Boston Fruit Company
The slOw-saiIing vessels OF ether days
were replaced by modern. sWift-movtng
steamships Then the business outgrew
the Boston Fruit Company. as Il had out
grown the private enterprise Of Capt
Baker, and Il gave place IN turn 20 the
big S3l10e.050 United Fruit Company.
which to-day has sixteen magnificent
yacht-lIke fruit steamers plying between
Jamaica and american ports It's work
has been the redemption Of the island. Its
exports OF fruits. chief CT which IS the
banana. amounts 20 more than o1e-half
Of the total exports of the islands. some
s. per cent OF this IS carried 20 the United
States by the United Fruit Company
But The possibilities OF the fruit business
are as yet merely touched There are per
haps three acres OF available banana land
On the island where there Is one acre Un-
der cultivation to-day The growing OF
The banana is e science. To get large.
well developed buncLes. the kind Il IS
most profitable 10 grow. requires careful
cultivation and rich land The banana is
q heavy feeder and exnausts the soil as
rapidly as any crop that can be found.
so the United Fruit Company as weN as
Ihe jamaican government. IS put on its
mettle 70 secure a crop rotation which
VIII keep the soil Up 20 q proper standard
II cultivatIng the banana the land IS
plowed by big plows 10 which eight or ten
Cxen are ElIched- The banana plants are
then set out in rows ten TO fifteen feet
apart and about eight feet apart 81 the
g
fifteen feet depending on the quality OF
he land and on the cultivation they get
At the end OF a year the first crop is
ready for gathering Each plant produces
cae bunch. aftsr which Il Is worthless
and Is cut down and Ieft on the ground
% -Or, But new plants. or suckers. are
constantly coming up from the root Thus
when the first plant IS cut down another
IS ready 20 bear. while two OF three
others are n different stages OF growth.
The process may be continued for- seven
years. when the land must be pIowed Up
again
The cOOie banana cutter Is very expert
II his work Es passes around among
the plants. selects the ones which are
ready 20 be cut and with a single stroke
OF his uachete cuts deep enough into the
steam OF the plant TO cause Il 10 bend low
enough for him 20 reach The bunch OF
bananas. WIKI one stroke Ee sewers the
bunch from the plant and with another
trims OF the other stem. the while pre-
venting the bunch from falling 20 the
ground
The average cargo OF bananas carried
away from the islands IS about 800
bunches. WheC they are 20 be carried
some little distance negro women are en-
2loyed and are paid . cents fo- each hun
Cred 5uuch-s carried At other t5mes big
lighters are Used 10 carry the bananas
from private w1a-ves 20 the steamship
dock. and negro men pass them from
hand 70 hand until they are safely. stored
IN rhs ships hold The United Fruit
Company IS TO Jamaica what the stan
Gard Oh IS 10 the United States. and ba-
mana growing and shipping is It's princi-
pal business, though other fruits receive
considerable attention. TIE latest returns
show that over 5000 acres Of land are az
uUaIIy given over 10 the growing Of ba-
nanas. the yield being uCre than e. 600 o93
buncEss q year, valued az nearly S5.50l033.
The cultivation OF the coccanUt IS prof
liable and Al easy way OF making a Nv
ing There are about 11000 acres OF these
trees under cultivation. and they yield
some 100000 nuts year The planta-
ton value OF these Is placed by TIE ia
mai-an tax returns al S225, ,co1, which IS
about ? cents Per nut, OF $3.50 Per acre.
Il takes seven years 10 grow a bearing
grove, but after that they flourish a hun
dred years. requiring no attention except
the gathering Of the nuts The land at
the same time may be used for grazing or
other farm purposes In the course OF Its
Nfe each tree VIII earn its owners over
500
Coffee growing is another attractive IN
dusrry IN the Islands IN many ways il
IS the best Of them all The best coffee
grows in the highlands Here one has a
climate Of perpetual spring The weather
is never not and never too damp. The
theruoIne-e- never goes above $ degrees
or below g.. thus giving a perpetuaIly con-
genial climate In starting q coffee plan
tatic1 the trees are usually set eight feet
apart each way Two years after there
VIII be q few scattered berries OF coffee
and the tlird year a small crop, enough
10 pay running expenses The fourth
year viii give a fun crop, and this profit
able yield viii continue for thirty or forty
years thereafter. The coffee berry when
ripe Is OF a bright pCrplish red color and
closely resembles a cherry The coffee
kernels. like cherry stones are eucased il
the fruit The preparation Of the coffee
for market IS an interesting process. Aft
er the fruit has been gathered i 3 run
through a machine called q 'pulper."
which tears Of most Of the fruit from the
kernels. These are next rdn through
tanks 20 wash Of tho remaining particles
Of fruit and are then spread out 70 dry.
After being thoroughly dried the hard
hull O. the berry IS broken and out Of II
comes The coffee Of commerce The tax