CHAPTER XXVIII. 

 CULTURE OF BANANAS. 



HERE is no doubt whatever in my mind but 

 what in the near future great quantities of 

 bananas will be grown in this extreme southern 

 end of Florida. The rich black muck lands of 

 the Everglades afford a particularly inviting 

 field for this industry, and it is a practical cer- 

 tainty that they will be grown here successfully 

 in the next few years and with much profit. 

 I have found that the dwarf varieties are best adapted for this 

 climate. The reason for this is that they are not only more pro- 

 ductive but have much stouter stems and resist storms much 

 better. I have found all of the dwarf varieties equally good, 

 there being very little difference in their quality. They should 

 be grown on rich, alluvial soil, well drained at all times, and 

 should be planted at a distance of ten feet apart each way. I 

 do not think we have a plant in this region that responds as 

 readily to cultivation as the banana. It seems that after each 

 and every thorough cultivation, a new growth is made. Great 

 care must be taken at all times to properly thin the hills, keeping 

 them down to three or four stalks, endeavoring to have one 

 bunch of fruit in development only and cutting out all suckers 

 except two or three. Should you at any time neglect this, you 

 will find your banana field becoming an impassable thicket, in con- 

 sequence of which inferior bunches are produced, and eventually 

 the entire field will go back and become unproductive and an 

 undesirable eyesore. 



Planting at this distance apart, about 400 hills can be pro- 

 duced per acre, allowing a little space for roads through the 

 field which are necessary for the removal of the bulky crop. They 

 should not be picked in this country until the first few ripe fruits 



105 



