I* 



'" It is of course the "Martinique" or " Gros Michel" sort known 

 to Trinidad growers. An inconsiderable quantity of the red variety is- 

 also grown in Jamaica, and is occasionally shipped away, more as a 

 decorative fruit than anything else, realizing fancy prices. The 

 smaller kinds of " figs" I saw very few of in any part of the Colony, 

 ami the banana of commerce was not in my opinion superior in either 

 size or flavour to our ordinary " Gros Michel" in Trinidad. With 

 regard however, to the size of the average bunch [i.e. the number of 

 "hands") there can be no question that ours are inferior. I am 

 judging merely by Mr. Symington's shipments, but there is, I believe. 

 mi reason whatever why. with proper cultivation, the size of bunches 

 of bananas grown in Trinidad should not rival, and even eclipse, those 

 produced by any of our neighbours. 



"• 8. Upon this question of " size" I will afford a few particulars 

 of the regulations that have become the recognised standard in Jamaica 

 for buying and selling. A full bunch or " Straight." as it is techni- 

 cally known, consists of nine hands or better eight hands count as 

 three-quarters, seven hands as a half and six hands as a fourth. 

 Abnormal bunches of 14 and 15 hands are generally subject to higher 

 prices by arrangement. 



" At first glance the advantage of this method would seem to be 

 all on the side of the buyer, but in effed il is not so, being more or 

 less mutual. 



" Big bunches mean better fruit, more convenient handling and 

 safer carriage, also higher prices from the wholesale dealer. These 

 the shipper requires, and pays his premium for getting. He doesn't 

 want small and inferior specimens, and will only take a limited pro- 

 portion of them in any case. 



•• On the other hand the grower cannot, under the most favour- 

 aide circumstances, avoid a certain percentage of small bunches, and 

 he is quite satisfied to sell them at the reduced rates referred t.>. 

 The fruit cut from young plants is usually undersized. 



" Patches of inferior land and unfavourable situations produce 

 similar results, and from a variety of causes the planter is obliged to 

 reckon upon a proportion of low grades in his annual crop. At any 

 rate the arrangement seems to work all right in Jamaica and is 

 generally considered to be perfectly equable. Its reaction upon the 

 cultivators is moreover far-reaching and beneficial, inasmuch as it 

 forces upon them the all-important necessity of good tillage, intelli- 

 gent management, and careful handling, as the only means of realizing 

 satisfactory returns. 



" 9. The prices paid by buyers and shippers varj according to 

 the season, and the exigencies of supply and demand. 



"For tin' English .Market, the besl prices are obtainable in the 

 Summer and Autumn month-, and for the United States, from April 

 t" August. 



'• So far as I was aide to ascertain, the highest ligures reach 

 £12 In per hundred bunches, and the lowesl £5, the average being 



Li LO, or one shilling and sixpence per hunch ol nine hands. Delivery 

 in all cases to he made at the nearest depot or railway station. 



