DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE, 329 
They are peeled and sliced either longitudinally or transversely and dried first in the 
oven and then in the sun. They are then packed in boxes or wrapped in dry leaves 
for exportation. In this form they are quite sweet and sugary and have a delightful 
flavor. In Tahiti and the neighboring islands belonging to France bananas preserved 
in this way are called ‘ piéré.”’ 
Banana flowr.—This is made from unripe bananas, which are first put into scalding 
water so as to facilitate peeling, sliced, dried in vacuum or in the sun, powdered and 
sifted. In British Guiana it is called by the natives “conquintay.’”’ It has a fra- 
grant odor, acquired in drying, somewhat resembling fresh hay or tea. The fruit is 
gathered green, before its starch is converted into sugar. The flavor of the meal is 
enhanced by quick drying. Steel knives must not be used in slicing the fruit, since 
they discolor the meal. Knives with silver or nickel blades are preferable. The 
Hour may be used in a measure asa substitute for arrowroot. Samples fit for ex por- 
tation contain about 15 per cent of water. The flour is packed in boxes or barrels 
lined with paper. It is of a vellow color and has an agreeable sweetish taste. — It 
combines readily with water, milk, or broth, It can not be made into bread, but is 
a fine ingredient for biscuits or cakes. ¢ 
In a country like Guam, where hurricanes, followed by scarcity of food, are Hable 
to occur at any time, it would be of the greatest advantage to the natives to keep on 
hand a supply of banana flour, as well as of dried breadfruit and fadang meal.! 
REFERENCES: 
Musa paradisieca L. Sp. Pl, 2: 1048. 1753. 
Musa sapientum |. See under Musa paradisiaca, 
Musa textilis. ABACA. 
Local NAMEs.—Abakdt (Gruam, Philippines). 
This plant has been introduced into Guam, and attempts were made to cultivate it 
on the island by several governors and by the Sociedad Agricola de la Concepcion, in 
1867, during the administration of Don Francisco Moscoso y Lara. It grows well; a 
fine patch of it may still be seen on the border of the ‘‘Ciénaga,’’ near Matan-hanom, 
the source of the Agafia River; but the preparation of its fiber required too much 
work on the part of the natives. They have other plants suitable for cordage, which 
require little trouble to prepare them for their uses; and the cultivation of this 
species, though quite possible in Guam, has never been an industry of the island. 
Unlike the allied banana and plantain, the fruits of Musa fertilis are fertile. The 
plant may be propagated from the seed, but it is usually propagated from suckers, as 
in the ease of the banana and plantain. When the plants are cut down at maturity 
they are replaced by suckers which spring up from the root, so that the plantation is 
constantly renewing itself, When the flower bud makes its appearance the plant is 
ready for the harvest. The stalk is cut close to the ground. The fiber is*contained 
in the long leaf sheaths which surround the stem. These are split into strips two or 
three inches wide. The inner portion of the middle parts, which are thicker than 
the marginal, is pulpy and comparatively useless, so that only the outer portion is 
used. The fiber should be extracted while the strips are still fresh, since they 
become quickly discolored if left in the sun, and the quality of the fiber is injured if 
they are allowed to ferment. In the Philippines the fiber is extracted by drawing 
the prepared strips of the leaf-sheath between the edge of a large knife or machete 
and a block of hard wood. This is usually done under a tree or a thatch-covered 
shed. Two posts are set upright in the ground, to which a horizontal pole is lashed 
with rattans (in Guam Pandanus leaves or cords of Hibiscus bark would answer). 
«Neish, Leuscher’s method of preparing banana flour, Jouri. Jamaica Agr. Soc., 
Noy., 1908, p. 440. See also species and principal varieties of Musa, Kew Bull. Mise. 
Inf., 1894, p. 228 to Sid. 
' See Artucarpus communis and Cycas cireinalis. 
