The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-08-06
BANANAS ARE
POPULAR FRUIT
Third of Million Miles OF Them
Eaten Annually in y. S.

To reach To the moon and half way
back again, weighing three billions oil
pounds. or million and half tons
That is Big Mike the English |
equivalent of eros Michele as the
banana of commerce Is known. Not |
only i'm name but in fact is this fruit
big. for Incredible as such n frul;
seems it merely represents the bana-
mas consumed i'm this country last
year. No other fruit in the land can
approach these figures.
We now consume more than
5000, 600 ,00O bananas every year, the
skins of which would cover an area
of nearly 5000 acres.
Origin of Fruit a Mystery.
Just where the banana originated is
matter of mystery Somewhere back
in the midst of time it grew wild like
the mamma of the bible, to a race
which had not yet learned the art of
cooking.
Originally the banana grew wild in
tropical countries. Eventually, how
ever, this strange fruit which is now
practically secdless, so far rs purposes
| ot propagation go, has been made a
| commercial product i'm the semi-trop-
les. Practically unknown in this coun-
try half a century ago. The extent To
which its use has grown is indicated
| 10y the fact that last year more than
! ii,0O0,000 lunches, of more than g.
OO0, 10000 individual bananas, were
consumed i'm this country alone,
There is probably no such prolific
| bearer i'm all the vegetable kingdom as
the banana. The scientific Humboldt
estimated that its yield as compared
to wheat was at 1873 to /, and as COM
pared to potatoes "a to |. In other
words, could the American farmer pro-
ducc wheat at this ratio he would Sc
cure over 1000 bushels an acre as
compared to the present average yield
of 16. and over 5000 bushels of pota
toes as compared to 200.
Astonishing Food Value.
When il comes to the question of
food values, the banana shows an
l equally astonishing record. The test
Of the food value of any article of diet
is found in the relative proportion of
flesh forming ingredients it contains.
that is, proteid after this the amount
of carbohydrate and fat is taken into
consideration. The following analy-
sis shows the composition of the apple,
orange and banana:
Wa Pro- Carbohy-
ter ted Fat dratc
Apple ..... SIG 4 - liz
Orange 80. 500 * - LIT
Banana I5.a l5 g 80
In other words, bananas contain
over three times as much prutcid as
the apple and twice as much carbo-
hydratc and three times as much fat
as the ORANGE.
But while many persons are familiar
with the banana of commerce and its
economical value, few have more than
the vaguest idea as To the manner in
which it is grown. The plant from
which the bunch comes is undoubtcd-
~ the most rapid grower from which
and foodstun of today is obtained. Al
though this plant may reach II height
of forty feet. it is in no sense a tree
but merely a great stem made up OF
closely overlapping leaves In a sin
gle year it attans this bunch of ban
anas, and is cut down. From the
roots another plant springs up To re-
peat the process in another lively,
months
Cultivated on Big Plantations.
The great majority of bananas
comes from the fertile river bottoms
of Central America and from Cuba
Jamaica and other islands. There they
!, are cultivated in vast plantations. The
making of such a plantation is an cx.
> pensiv" undertaking, il being cstimat'
= ed that an investment of from $500.00
#, L. fS0o,00O Is necessary To bring ;
plantations To- the point, "here n caIg'
Of fruit q week can bc shipped
The FIRST step after the selection -
the land, SAY 1000 acres, which i!
:. about the minimum, is to clear it from
timber. The great trees are fClled
the smaller branches Topped off an,
4 poled up and all are left on the grount
;, 90 rot. Then the pieces of banan;
- roofs are planted from 10 to 20 fee
Il apart. These pieces are obtaine,
- from elder plants and each contain
: an eye" An old plant will general!
.r furnish three eyes, and the new plant
- ing viii go ON growing up and bear
a ing each year. In from ten to twclv
f, months the bananas are ready ro
; picking, and i'm the meantime thCr
are roads Ia he built, bridges, house
and railroads. all of them expensive
To be constructed AS soon as the ba
i, nanas are cut they are transported T.
!. the coast. placed on refrigerated yes
!. sells and shipped To their destination
The cutting goes ON throughout tn
:. year.
I --------------------------
n THE BLUE LAWS.