Oct. I, 1886,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



25: 



THE BANANA TRADE : AS IT IS AND AS IT 

 MIGHT BE. 



Under these headings a writer in the Fiji Times 

 discusses thus the question of the disposal in fruit 

 which cau'ot be exported: — 



Roughly i ostimate that six tons ripe bananas 

 make one tou of dried fruit (if my memory does 

 not play me false it takes only five tons). Well 

 let us take the low estimate of 20 tons of fruit 

 per acre, suppose half this fit to ship, green, the 

 remaining half from various causes, such as defective 

 size or appearance of bunch, or surplus over and 

 above carrying capacity of vessel, or the ripening 

 of large quantities between arrivals of steamers, or 

 low price of green bananas in foriegn markets, or 

 possible causes I have not enumerated, the grower 

 sells to be dried, for which I believe it possible to 

 pay him £1 per ton and still leave the driers a 

 sufficient margin for profit and working expenses. 

 Now the question is, Will it pay to raise and deliver 

 them at Levuka or other curing centre at such a 

 price ? I believe it will, it pays to deliver cane or river 

 banks for 10 per ton, surely it will pay to deliver 

 and carry a reasonable distance a much hardier crop 

 than cane which is liable to ferment in a very 

 short time. He has also to the good all those bunches 

 fit to send direct to a foreign market; also the 

 advantage of such a case as is now before me 

 where I am informed 1,000 bunches, which if of 

 marketable size, ought to weigh a*-, least 22 tons, 

 have arrived top late for the steamer, and unless 

 another steamer arrives will hare to be thrown 

 away which amounts to this, that £22 worth of raw 

 material or its equivalent of £103 manufactured do, 

 will be thrown over-board. This is only a case of 

 many in point. I suggest no royal road to wealth. 

 I greatly doubt its existence except in stock gamb- 

 ling, but I certainly think money might be profitably 

 saved which is now utterly lost. It has been ob- 

 jected to me that it would cost more than 

 the article was worth to place the first instalment 

 on the market ; well the only part of the premier 

 transaction which I perceive to be non-rumunerative 

 would be the cost of the travellers' wages and 

 expenses. This difficulty I opine to be unavoidable, 

 but I cannot at all see that so slight a one need 

 crush the industry, and this of course would be a 

 matter of after detail. 



Thoro is another use for tlie banana, viz: — the 

 manufacture of jam. It makes a first class jam and 

 being free from stones and seed is admirab3- suited 

 both for the table and culinary purposes; and also 

 I believe the fruit to be suited for canning purposes, 

 though in that I have not practically tested it. 

 In fact to sum up, we are only at the beginning 

 of the banan.'i trade and have only developed one branch 

 of it; the other features are not to be projected 

 without an effort, at least. 



OLIVE CULTIVATION IN SPAIN. 



Consul Oppenheira says that there are many varie- 

 ties of the olive tree cultivated in Spain, the better 

 known descriptions being the Manzanillo. Sevillano, 

 Govdal, BeUotndo, Redondillo, Lechin, Nevadi'lo bianco, 

 J'aral bianco, Empeltre, Racimal, Terdejo, Madrileno, 

 and the Cornicabra. Each of tliese varieties can be 

 reproduced in several ways, but the method of pro- 

 pagation generally adopted is either by estacas or by 

 garrotes. Both these methods are followed through- 

 out the whole of Spain, though in the central provinces 

 the second process is more general, while the con- 

 trary holds good for the south and the extreme north. 

 The time chosen for planting is from -January to 

 INfnrch in the maritime zone, from January till April 

 in the central provinces, and from .January till May 

 in the north. The eataca, which is a stout limb of the 

 parent tree abiut three yards long, is planted imme- 

 diately after being cut from the tree; a hole is dug 

 to a depth vary'rg between one and two yards, the 

 depth increa.-iin^ with the severity of the climate. 

 53 



[ Square pits, about three quarters of a yard each way, 

 are considered to be the best for the purpose. At the 

 bottom of the pit a layer of manure is first deposited, 

 upon which a layer of soil is placed ; the limb is then 

 placed in the centre of the pit, and earth is then 

 put in, thoroughly broken up, and pc^sed down with 

 the feet. In Andalusia it is usual to pile up 7noist 

 clay against the protruding part of the estaca, until 

 no more than about a foot of its length is visible ; .and 

 this is considered to be very efficient in hot, dr}' regions, 

 as otherwise it often happens that the Vvni produces 

 shoots from the lower part ouly, while tht- upper part 

 becomes dried up. The moist clay is piled up in the 

 form of a slender cone, and at half its height an 

 opening is left for supplying the limb with water, which 

 in dry v.-eathor is done plentifully. The ijarrntes are 

 cuttings of from two to three feet long, and for these 

 the pits are dug somewhat less deep than for the 

 estacas, and two of the garrotes are planted together, 

 leaning towards each otlier in such a position that the 

 two cuttings and the bottom of the pit form a triangle, 

 of which the apes is even with the ground. lu re- 

 gard to manuring ami filling the pit, the proceb.5 is 

 the same in both methods of planting, only the upper 

 part of the smaller cuttings must be covered with a 

 little loose soil. The sprouts from these smaller cut- 

 tings are more exposed to damage by frost and by 

 animals, and the bearing age is also reached some four 

 or five years later; but it is considered that the trees 

 cultivated in this way are more hardy and product- 

 ive. During the first eight or ten years after plant- 

 ing, the orchard is ploughed three times a 3'ear, and 

 the soil immediately surrounding the plants hoed 

 three times the first and second year, and later twice 

 a year. Manuring is usually effected once every three 

 years, and the autumn is the period generally ctiosen 

 for this operation. Plaster from old walls is con- 

 sidered to be a beneficial addition to the stable manure 

 ordinarily used, and calcined bones are known to 

 expedite the growth and increase the yield of oil. 

 It has been stated that one hundred kilogrammes of 

 manure increase the product of each tree the first 

 year by over two kilogrammes, the second year by 

 three, and the third year by two kilogrammes again. 

 Artificial irrigation is restored to only in dry regions, 

 or in times of drought ; as a rule the grown trees 

 thrive very well without it. In Saragossa irrigation 

 is largely resorted to, as is also manuring, while in 

 Seville there is very little of either. The time at 

 which the olives ripen varies considerably, according 

 to locality and the species cultivated. In Andalusia, 

 when intended for pickhng, they are picked usually 

 about the middle of September, and the pickling lasts 

 until the middle of October; at that time the fruit 

 has reached its full development, as far as size is 

 concerned, but is yet green and hard. When the fruit 

 is required for the extraction of oil, the harvest com- 

 mences in November and sometimes last until January. 

 The usual mode of gathering is by knocking the fruit 

 down with sticks, but careful growers pick by hand, 

 which is less expeditious but more profitable, as the 

 fruit is obtained in a better condition. For pickling 

 there are two methods employed, the first, which is 

 a very slow pi-ocess, being as follows: — The freshly 

 picked olives are placed in water, which must be 

 changed every day, and allowed to remain a fortnight ; 

 at the expiration of that time the water is quickly 

 drawn off and promptly replaced, not leaving the 

 fruit exposed to the air more than is absolutely necess- 

 ary. The water drawn off is at first very bitter, and 

 this bitter taste will go on decreasing day by day, 

 the taste being taken as a criterion as to when this 

 process is to be considered as completed, a fortnight 

 being the time usually required. The olives are then 

 placed in a solution of salt and water, generally in 

 barrels, in which wine or brandy has been kept. 

 At the bottom a layer of olive twigs and leaves is 

 first placed, which protects the olive from injury by 

 pressure, and on the top of the fmit another similar 

 layer is placed, care being taken to have this layer 

 well cjvered by the brine. The whole is kept down 

 by oak staves weighted with bricks or stone, all of 



