BANANA CULTURE. 183 



fruits, for the reason that it, like the pine-apple, is a true 

 child of the tropics, and can not endure the least touch of 

 frost uninjured; but, unlike the pine-apple, it is not so 

 readily sheltered, owing to its tall nature. In the more 

 southern portions of Florida, especially along the coasts, 

 the raising of bananas for market has become quite an im- 

 portant industry, and even much further north in the 

 State, where occasional frosts catch the plants and kill 

 them to the roots, they are raised in no inconsiderable 

 quantities, and when one remembers the amount of fruit 

 they bear, in proportion to the ground they occupy and 

 the care they receive, it is no wonder that they should be 

 planted wherever there is the least chance of their perfect- 

 ing their fruit. 



Besides their food value (they are very nutritious, and 

 act favorably on the liver), bananas are general favorites 

 simply as fruit, and w r e rarely meet with a person who is not 

 fond of them; therefore, wherever they have any chance 

 of reaching maturity, the Floridian sets out his banana 

 plants, many or few, according to circumstances. 



North of the twenty-ninth degree they are killed to the 

 ground almost every winter ; south of the twenty-seventh 

 they are seldom touched by frost ; while in the intermedi- 

 ate latitude they do well, rarely losing more than their 

 leaves. 



The banana likes a rich, warm soil sandy loam is the 

 best ; it does well on moderately moist land, but better on 

 dry, if kept mulched. 



In setting out a plantation of bananas, the young plants 

 should be placed in rows eight feet apart, and nine feet apart 

 in the rows, so set that each plant will be opposite the cen- 

 ter of the vacant space in the next row. By pursuing this 

 plan they will shelter each other, and yet will not ward off 

 the rays of the sun, of which they can not have too much ; 



