i76 



THE AOrTCULTURAL N'KW,- 



Septembkr 



1908. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



BANANA INDUSTRY IN SURINAM. 



As tlif ifsult of an agreement contracted some U\<> \cais 

 -ago l)et\veen the Goveniinent of Dutcli (iiiiana and the 

 planters of that colony on the "iic liaiui, and the V'iiit(.'d 

 Fruit t'onipany on the other, ii. lianana industry lias lieeii 

 .started in the colony, and inci'easing shi|pnieMts of fruit have 

 been made during the (last five months. 



I'lider the above agreement the jilanters of Surinam 

 ■agn-cd to jilaut, in 1907, an area of 2,470 acres with bananas, 

 and by the end of 1909,- to iiM'rease-this area to at least 

 7,410 acres. The Government of the colony undertook to 

 advance the funds which were nece.s.sary to assist in starting 

 the industry, this money to be rejjaid in instalments as the 

 plantations came into bearing. It has been estimated that 

 the total sum ret|uired from the Government for the purpose 

 of ]jlanting and bringing into cultivation of the 7,410 aiies 

 mentioned, will amount to very nearly £ir)0,00<', or apprnxi 

 mately £20 per acre. 



For every 20,000 bunches of bananas prucluccd. ihi' 

 I'liiU'd Fruit ("ompaiiy undertook on its part, to send a boat 

 to llutch Guiana, to fetch away the produce. 



Arrangements have been made for the importation of 

 coolies from India to provide the necessary additional labciur 

 required by this new industry, and a smal! ta,\ is [u \ir 

 placed iiiion the proceeds of the banana [ilantations in nidci- 

 to meet the expense of this importation. 



The industry has every pronii.se of success in the future, 

 but one or two ditficulties that have presented them.selves so 

 far are dealt with in an article appearing in a late number nl 

 the .lonnia/ d'Aiirini/t II If 7'ro/iirii/f It is I'.xplaincd thai 

 when the scheme was started it was understood that tin- 

 banana |)lautations would, in the great majoiity of casos, be 

 made on cacao estates nf the colony, where they would form 

 a subsiiliary cultivation. .Many large cacao planters, how- 

 ever, found themselves unalile to give time and attention l<> 

 bananas as well, and hence large plantations have been started 

 which are deroted to banana culture only. The result has 

 been that the initial expenses connected v. ith the start of 

 the industry liave beeu heavier-than-was ex'pect^djand the 

 return of the Government advances must necessarily In; 

 delayed. 



A .second difticulty is connected with the expense of 

 transiwrt of the bananas from the plantations to the steamers. 

 The banana areas lie chietly along the Surinam i-ivef, and 

 it is estimated that the construction and maintenance of 

 a, wharf, the provision of lighters, oarsmen, etc , would entail 

 a cost of £4 per acre per annum, if each estate undertook to 

 •convey its own produce to the steamers. .Mternativc 

 ideas that Lave been put forward are that a light railway 



might be constriicteil aloiig the valley of the Surinam 

 river, or that the Unitgd Fruit Company should provide 

 a. common service of lighters towards which all the estates 

 would contribute. The latter i.s the niore favoured suggestion, 

 since the construction of a _rail»-ay wouhl nece.ssarily entail 

 another heavy initial expense on the dtveloping industry. 



THE COMING COLONIAL FRUIT SHOW. 



A tljeiitioii is ilrawii to the letter given below, which 

 has been roeeivcMl t'rorii Mr. A. E. Aspinall, the Secre- 

 tary to the West India Coimriittee. in relation to the 

 show of colonial-grown fruit and vegetables that will be 

 held Jit We.stniinster at the end of November next. 

 The season is a favourable one so far as the West 

 Indies are concerned, since at that time of the year, 

 tine collections of produce will be available in these 

 islands, ami it is greatly hoped that a genera! efi'ort 

 will be made by the IVriiianent Exhibition Committee.s 

 of the stn-eral colonies to co-operate with Jlr. Aspinall, 

 antf that dealers and consumers in London will be 

 <'nal)l<'d to see really creditable displays of fruit and 

 v<'getal>les from the West Indies. 



Mr. Aspinall writes: — 



' Will you permit me to avail niy.sdf of the columns of the 

 A<iriniltiinil Xkii's for the [mrpo.se of calling tlie attention of 

 tlii> various Permanent Exliibition Committees in the West 

 Indies to the Colonial Fruit Show to be held at the Koyal 

 lloiticultnral Hall. Westiniustei-, on November 2ti and 27 

 next. Tiinidad an<i Mont.-crral have already decided to 

 participate, and we hope on this occasion to make a really 

 cliaracleristii- display of West Indian fruits, prcserve.s, etc. 

 'I'lie lioyal .Mail Steam Facket Com[)any have kindly consent- 

 ed to carry exhibits ' freight free,' and the only expenditure 

 will be that for st;Lging the exhibits, carriage of fruit from 

 Southampton or Avonnioutli, as the case may be, and inciilen- 

 til expenses. 



' It is very inipurtant that wt- should know as soon as 

 liossible which of the colonies decide to take part in this. 

 exhibition, and I trust you will help our efforts to arrange for 

 an exlnl'il which will do full credit to our West Indian 

 ( 'olonies. 



■ In conclusion. I would remind the I'crmanent Exhibition 

 Committees that the exhibits should be addressed to me at. 

 the Koyal Horticultural Hall, Westminster, and be accompa- 

 nied with a complete list, together with suitable matter for 

 publication in leaHet form.' 



