THE BANANA. 



365 



The Banana (Musa sapientum). 



Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Wherever the mean 

 heat of the year exceeds 75 of Farenheit, the banana 

 is one of the most important and interesting objects 

 for the cultivation of man. All hot countries appear 

 equally to favour the growth of its fruit; and it has 

 even been cultivated in Cuba, in situations where the 

 thermometer descends to 45 of Farenheit. Its 

 produce, as already mentioned, is enormous. The 

 banana, therefore, for an immense portion of man- 

 kind, is what wheat, barley, and rye are for the inha- 

 bitants of Western Asia and Europe, and what the 

 numerous varieties of rice are for those of the coun- 

 tries beyond the Indus.* 



The banana is not known in an uncultivated state. 

 The wildest tribes of South America, who depend 



* Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain Black's Trans- 

 lation, vol. ii. 



