BANANAS. 



rilHE Banana fruit, occasionally seen on the stalls of street-side vendors and commonly 

 in fruiterers' shops, is mainly produced in the West India Islands and upon the 

 Central American coast. The green fruit can be used as a vegetable by peeling off the 

 .skin, then washing, boiling, and serving it whole with melted butter, or mashed. When 

 ripe, the fruits, after peeling, may be placed in a dish, and have butter and sugar, which 

 have been rubbed together, poured over them ; then baked as pies. They are very 

 delicious done in this manner. Thoroughly ripened and freshly-gathered fruits are 

 valued for the dessert. They are sweet, buttery, and nutritious. The banana has been 

 not inappropriately described as " the Prince of the Tropics." 



VARIETIES. 



Many are grown in the West Indies and other tropical 

 cultivation in this country : 



SAPIENTUM ; VARIETY MARTINIQUE (Jamaica, 

 Yellow Costa Rica). Leaves deep green, oblong, 

 8 to 10 feet long, and 1 foot or more wide. Height, 

 20 feet. A good bunch of fruit contains over a 

 hundred " fingers," each 4 inches long or more, 

 and l inch in diameter, weighing at least 

 pound ; skin clear golden yellow, thin ; flesh firm, 

 yet tender, buttery, melting, rich, vinous, and aro- 

 matic. Specimen clusters weigh 70 to 80 pounds, 

 yet 60 pounds is a fine example bunch of this royal 

 fruit. 



SAPIENTCM ; VARIETY, THE LADIES' FINGERS. 

 Fruit medium size, pointed ; skin very thin ; flesh 

 tender, with a rich aromatic flavour. This variety 

 is extensively grown in Brazil, and proves the most 

 highly flavoured of all bananas grown in this 

 country. It has been successfully cultivated at 

 Earl Cowper's, Panshanger, Hertford, by Mr. J. 

 Fitt. The Ladies' Fingers banana is a more slender 

 plant than the Martinique, and requires higher 

 cultivation. Height, 16 to 20 feet. 

 M. CAVENDISHI (DWARF OR CHINESE BANANA). 

 Leaves <? O D green, oblong. 2 to 3 feet or more long, 



M. 



countries, the following being a selection of the best for 



1 to 2 feet wide ; height, 8 to 10 feet. Bunch large, 

 hanging nearly to the ground ; pods long and thick ; 

 skin yellow, rather thick ; flesh firm, melting, 

 buttery, and well-flavoured. A cluster of fruits 

 has been exhibited weighing 90 pounds, and even 

 heavier weights of a single bunch have been 

 recorded. 



M. CAVENDISHI; VARIETY REDSKIN. Stronger growing 

 than M. Caveudishi, bearing large bunches of 

 handsome orange- coloured fruits, not equal in 

 quality to the Martinique, yet superior to M. 

 Cavendishi. The variety represented in the 

 coloured plate facing page 94 was grown in the 

 Duke of Northumberland's garden at Syon House, 

 by Mr. G. Wythes. 



THE APPLE BANANA. Probably a cross between M. 

 sapientum and M. Cavendishi. The plant is slender ; 

 bunch medium sized ; pods about the length of a 

 person's middle finger, pointed ; skin clear, yellow, 

 thin ; flesh tender, melting, rich, aromatic, and very 

 delicious. This variety grows to a height of 12 to 

 16 feet, and is similar to the Ladies' Fingers 

 variety. 



