^76 



THK AGKIUULTUKAL NEWfe 



Skhtbmbbu G, 1919. 



A DRIED-BANANA INDUSTRY. 



The Imperial Department of Agriculture for tlie West 

 Indies has been in communication with the Colonial OflBce 

 concerning the possibilities of extending the dried-banana 

 industry in these islands, an industry which so far exists only 

 in Jamaica. 



Last December, the Imperial Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture requested the Agricultural Superintendent, St. Lucia, 

 to prepare small samples by means of a Chula drier 

 employed there during the war in connexion with the food 

 campaign. 



Samples were prepared in due course and forwarded to 

 Barbados, but they turned out to be valueless on account of 

 the excessive drying to which they had been .subjected. 



Further trials were ra ide in due course. Ripe bananas 

 were simply peeled, not sliced, and gently healed at a tem- 

 perature of aliout 150° F. for sixty-four hours, until they 

 readied a firm consistency, care bein« taken to provide 

 ventilation, which is very essential. Another sample was 

 dried in the sun. 



Both these samples have been pronounced to be 

 palatable articles of diet in Barbados, and larger quantities 

 forwarded to the Imperial Institute, London, for commercial 

 valuation, have been reported on favourably too. This 

 report is pubii>hed as the conclusion to this article. 



As regards the cost of producing dried ban nas in 

 St. Lucia, Mr. A. J. Brooks, tl.e Agricultural Superintei dent, 

 has furnished the following information. In the second 

 trial refeired to above, 30tt>. of ripe banuias were used. 

 The skins when lemoved, weighed 7^ lb., thus leaving •221 Jb. 

 of freshliianana. 'I'be dried bananas weighed 6i 8). On this 

 occasion the bananas were purchased i>t 'id. \ er lb, Ti e origi- 

 nal cost was therefore 25. 6;/. If the dried product of this trial 

 sold at 6(/ per lb. on the spot, without further charges of 

 packing, trei^iht, etc., it would, in Mr. Brooks's opinion, just 

 about pay. The dried product at Gd. per Tb. wou d realize 

 3.f. li^^., leaving a difference of 5ld. pei h., which sum 

 would have to cover labour in handliny, los.-^ from decay, 

 and cost of fuel. If large quantities were handled, the cost 

 of drying and handling wcjuld be greatly reduced. In this 

 connexion the report of the valuers in London that the 

 sun-dried fruit are better than the artificially-dried is 

 important. 



There is little doubt that with a good supply of 'sound 

 fruit at about Id. per lb., and the sun dried prodciCts disposed 

 of at Gd. per B) , a profitable industry could be established in 

 the W' St Indian islands. 



The following is the report on the samples from 

 St. Lucia, received from the Imperial Institute : — 



'i>E.scRii'TiON OF SAMPLES. TliB .Samples consisted res- 

 pectively of sun-dried and artificially-dried bananas 



'The .sun-dried bananas were in excellent condition, 

 pale in colour, and of good appearance, except that the netting 

 used as a support during drying had produced deep 

 markings in the fruits. 



'The bananas which had been artificially dried in a 

 drying apparatus were distinctly inferior to the sun-dried 

 sample. The fruits were very dark in colour on the side 

 which had been in contact with the netting used as a 

 support, and this difect would detract from their value. 



'coMMKiKfAL VAi.UATio.N. The Samples were sub- 

 mitted for valuHtion to truit merchants in London, who 

 considered the .sun dried banan-is to be of good quality and 

 worth 6^/. per R). wholesale in the United Kingdom (July 



1919) 



'The flavour and quality of the machine-dried bananas 

 were pronounced to be quite satisfactory, but such dark- 



coloured fruits would probably not be saleable when 

 lighter fruits like the sun dried sample are available. If, 

 however, the darkening in colour could be avoided, they 

 would be as valuable as the sun-dried bananas. 



'These dried bananas from St. Lucia ae somewhat 

 larger than those now selling in the United Kingdom. 

 The latter fruit.s are of about the same colour as the sun- 

 dried sample, and realize 6d. or Id. per lb. wholesale, whilst 

 some lighter-colour(d fruit have recently been imported and 

 are being .sold at prices ranging up to 10(/. per lb. 



'Before the war dried bananas sold at S^d. per tt). 

 wholesale in the United Kingdom, but durintj the war 

 the price reached '2s. Gd- per lb. The importation 

 has rapidly increased, but the future demand and 

 price will depend upon the price of fresh bananas, which 

 at present is high When abundant supplies of cheap 

 fresh bananas again become available the demand for the 

 dred fruit will fall, but there will always be a certain outlet 

 for them as the trade has now become established, 



'kfjMark.s. These snn-dried bananas from .St. Lucia 

 are of good quality, and consignments of similar character 

 would be saleable in the United Kingdom. The artificially- 

 dried fruits were inferior to the sun dried on aoiiount of their 

 dark cdour, and it would be des rable to carry out experi- 

 ments with a view to obviating this defect. The lighter 

 the colour of the fruits, the higher will be their market 

 value in the United Kingdom. 



'It is not advisa.ble to pack bananas in ordinary paper 

 as it aiiheres to the fruits, and 'biscuit' paper or some form 

 of grease-proof paper would be more suita' le. If, may be 

 mentioned, however, thai dried bananas usually arrive on 

 the LTnited Kingdom market in wooden case.s, each contain- 

 ing J-cwt. of bananas packed in layers without any wrap 

 ping material. 



'The fruit merchants who valued the simples stated that 

 they would be willing to receive a trial shipment of about 

 ten J cwt. cases of dried bananas from St. Lucia, provided 

 that the qnality was nnt below that of the present sun- 

 dried sample Information should therefore be furnished 

 to the Imperial Institute as to the possibility of forwarding 

 thi.s quantity for sale.' 



Steps are being taken to s''pply the valuers in London, 

 with ths larger quantities asked for. 



THE HEALTH OF LIVE STOCK IN 

 ANTIGUA. 



The report of ilr. H. Goodwin, M.B.C V.S , Inspector 

 of Ammals in Antigua, which has been received from the 

 acting Colonial Secretary, contains various items of infor- 

 mation which show that the position as regards the health 

 of live stock in Antigua is still far from salisf.iclnry. 



At the Ix'ginning of the report Mr Goodwin says that a 

 number of estates still depend upon ponds and pools for 

 their water supply; the collecting arens of many of these are 

 infested with parasites, and the animal.s going to drink 

 become infected at the nnrgins of the ponds There are'other 

 pools and ponds which are close to pens, and in heavy weath- 

 er, they receivs the drainage contaminattd wi:li the manure. 

 It is not diflicult to understand, therefore, that under these 

 conditions, tuberculosis and other dineases exist. As to the 

 jirincipal ailments which occurred duri?ig 191819, the report 

 refers principally to those affecting hors's. Sm-h cases as 

 occurred of epizootic lymphangitis showed .signs of spontan- 

 eous recovery. It is believed that the incidence of this 



