THE BANANAS OF HAWAII 7 



scattered all along the great migration routes of this adventure- 

 some people. 



Upon settling in the Hawaiian Islands, the villages were es- 

 tablished along the coasts. The primitive agriculture to w^hich 

 the people were accustomed naturally developed along the low- 

 lands and in the valleys. The rough, jungle-covered, very 

 rainy, interior regions were not suitable for human habitation 

 nor for agriculture. So the plantations of bananas, bread-fruit, 

 coco-nut, s^veet potatoes, taro, and other food crops, were most 

 extensively developed along the lowlands. It soon became evi- 

 dent, how^ever, that many of the lower regions did not receive 

 sufficient rainfall to enable such a moisture-loving plant as the 

 banana to reach its prime. Moreover, the wet valleys, with their 

 copious precipitation and shelter from the strong winds, were 

 recognized as very suitable places for banana groves. This 

 condition led to the establishment of banana plantations through- 

 out the upper valleys and ravines, along the stream ways, and in 

 the midst of the rain-forest. The banana plant is tolerant of 

 shade, it can flourish in scant soil, and the coolness of the val- 

 leys did not seriously delay the ripening of the fruit. 



In this way it came about that a very large proportion of the 

 native banana groves w-ere situated at some distance from the 

 villages, often several miles. The natives went to the groves 

 only to gather the fruit, or to extend the plantings. These 

 groves perpetuated themselves indefinitely, and with the decline 

 of the Hawaiian people became practically "wild" groves. 

 Now^adays, when people speak of the "wild bananas" in the 

 mountains they refer to these groves and to others that have 

 originated from them. They are "wild" in the sense that they 

 have escaped from cultivation, or rather that cultivation is no 

 longer afforded them, and have become thoroughly naturalized; 

 they are not indigenous. 



Frequently, in travelling afoot along the narrow and precipitous 

 summit ridges of the older and more deeply eroded mountains 

 of the Hawaiian group, one finds small clumps or groves of 

 banana plants at considerable elevations, 3500 to 4500 feet. In 

 these cold, rainy, summit regions the clumps usually occur on 



