The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-25

ITb% hltfiti, VI AoIb siihN' a. >AAN
average American would say, Is king
of the Caribees. He sits on his throne
at Porto Limon, Costa Rica. or Bocas
del Toro, Panama, and across the blue
Caribbean waters watches ,ne pre-
tender Sugar Cane husily plotting
in Cuba and Porto Rico TO regain his
throne.
But the throne seems safely in the
keeping of eros Michel, the big yell
: low. luscious bapana which is rapidly
making friends Of all the civilized
/ Rico and Hispaniola he has aban-
doned to sugar cane. but the rest of
the Caribbean liz safely his
+ Yearly there are imported into the
/ United States more than 100000
lunches of bananas. On a bunch are
from six to twelve hands" or clus-
tiers OF bananas with from seven to
ten fingers to a hand. The fruit,
raised in the tropics, transported in
artifcially cooled boats to the great
American ports and then distributed
in refrigerated fruit cars Az over the
country. is sold here at a price much
lower than native fruits (Which may
be raised in plentiful quantities but
a few miles from ones very door).
The banana is not indigenous to
the American tropics but was intro
duced there by the Spanish conquis-
tadores-one. and perhaps the only
thing, for which the islands and
coasts of the Caribbees should be
grateful to Spain.
According to the comm only accept
ed accoun-. the banana was brought
TO the island of Hispaniola--Haiti or
Santo Domingo as it is still frequently
called--the island most closely as
ISOLATED with Column bus--from the
Canary islands by Thomas di Bcr-
langa, friar. in 1916. 1t probably
was introduced into the Canary
Islands from Guinea Whether it orig
mated in Africa or India is matter
shrouded in the mists of history.
The Canary Island banana. or dwarf
Chines& banana as 1t is called, Is
extensively raised in certain sections
of South and Central America where
the ether types are destroyed by soil
disease but from which 1t is immune.
It is also raised in the island Of Bar
bados, the eastermost OF the Lesser
Antilles The "claret" Or red, banana
also grows in the American tropics a
species which is quite popular with
the public hut which is difficult to ship
because the fruit is easily loosened
from the stem--a matter which makes
il commercially not very attractive.
The species of banana best known
and best liked is the large, yellow
variety known in the American tropice
az eros Michel and to botanists as
musa capientum, or mase paradisiaca.
Many hold that the latter name was
applied by learned persons who be-
lieved that in the banana they had
found that apple" which grew in the
Garden of Eden and which brought
original" sin into the world
Thus for four centuries the banana
has been known and eaten in the
American tropics but it was not until
about thirty years ago that ii was in
PRODUCED commercially into the United
States. The actual inception OF the
/ banana trade dates back to 1856 when
Carl Il. Franc entered into an ar
rangement with n steamship company
to carry bananas from Colombia to
New York city. 1870 Captain Lor-
en1c D. Baker carried small con-
signment from Jamaica to Boston.
In 1885 Andrew w. Preston started
the Boston Fruit company for the
purpose of stimulating the production
and transportation Of bananas from
Jamaica, Hispaniola and Cuba This
gradually grew into big and pro-
fitable concern.
Minor c. Keith, born in Brooklyn,
went to Costa Rica in 1871 to join
build railroad through the Costa
Rican wilderness to San Jose on the
highlands. the capital Of the republic.
II required nineteen years to build
the 100 miles Of railroad and 1000
men lost their lives in constructing
the first twenty five miles of the rail-
road. The track was through wilder
ness. with no freight to assure some
sort of income while the rest OF 10
r.. al eto ia
banana plantations in order to have
something TO ship. He developed
three great banana properties at
Bocas del Toro, Porto Liinon and
Santa Marta. the latter in Columbia.
shipping the product to New Orleans.
In 1899 MIR. Keith and Mr.. Preston
organized the United Fruit company.
whose Great White Fleet now plies
through all the Caribbean waters and
which bought out the holdings Of
these two men and their companies.
The United Fruit company now i'm
ports slightly more than half OF the
bananas brought into this country and
carries them to several countries in
Europe. MIR. Preston is president OF
the company. and Mr.. Keith vice.
president.
When the first missionaries OF the
Episcopal church went to the islands
of the West Indies it is more than
probable that, fed on the usual mis-
information concerning the banana.
they expected to find 1t growing wild
in Cuba. Porto Rico, Hispaniola or
Santo Domingo and the other islands
where they lahored, But they soon
learned that the wild banana is not
edible and that 1t is only through tho
sweat OF someone's brow that the
banana is cultivated into the lusci-
GUS fruit which we know.
Another preconceived idea which
these missionaries quickly got rid of
was that the banana in its native
tropic haunts, picked ripe from the
stem, is much more savory and
delectable fruit than the artificially
ripened banana of commerce. which
has to be picked green in order to
reach this country before spoilings
They found tha hanauaa In Cuhn