MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 665 



west or even fruit, it will be found that more money can be made, 

 that the former will be more lucrative and will pay better in every 

 way than the latter. Then, with Canaigre, the farmer is, to a large 

 extent, independent of the weather conditions at the time of gath- 

 ing, since a month or six weeks' difference of time will have no 

 great influence. (Tex. E. S. B. 38.; Ariz. E. S. B. 5; N. Mex. E. 

 S. B. 11.) 



THE BANANA. 



The banana may well be reckoned the most important of all 

 fruits since it is one of the principal food staples of many millions 

 of the inhabitants of the tropics, and is also exported to temperate 

 regions in rapidly increasing quantities, far exceeding in amount and 

 value any similar product. Banana cultivation in the tropical 

 islands of the United States is one of the most productive agricul- 

 tural exploitations. 



The agriculture of the Tropics resembles that of temperate re- 

 gions to the extent that large profits depend upon favorable natural 

 conditions, skillful and industrious farming, adequate and cheap 

 labor, accessible markets, good prices, and numerous other con- 

 tingencies. The most important difference between agriculture in 

 the Tropics and agriculture in temperate regions does not lie in 

 the greater security or larger profits of tropical agriculture, but in 

 the fact that the attendant difficulties, being less known, are less 

 easily anticipated and less easily overcome. It is true that the 

 profits of successful tropical agriculture are sometimes very large, 

 but it is also plain that this would not be the case if the art by 

 which they are obtained were as easy as often supposed. (Y. B. 

 1901.) 



There are many different kinds of plantains, the banana, the 

 one most usually brought to the American markets, being the kind 

 which grows <best and yields the most fruit. It requires good soil 

 and little water, for it brings humidity to the ground, perhaps be- 

 cause of the large leaves sucking the moisture of the air, which runs 

 through the plant, or because it brings up the underground deep 

 waters to the surface. Whatever be the cause, the ground is always 

 moist in a banana plantation, however great the drought. 



When planted in new soil the banana does not require any 

 plowing, but it does when the lands have been much used and have, 

 of course, lost their natural state of porosity. When once the soil 

 is ready, holes are made 1 yard in diameter, 2 or 3 yards distant 

 from one another, and about one-half a yard deep. In rich lands 

 and new lands no fertilizer is required, but otherwise a basketful 

 of some kind is useful; a sprout is then planted, which in three 

 months' time will grow to 8 and 10 feet high, and nine months or a 

 year after planting, according to the variety, will yield fruit in the 

 form of a bunch, which will count as many sometimes as 200 

 bananas. 



In most places no water is required, but half a dozen irriga- 

 tions a year will be enough in the driest lands. Once the planta- 

 tion is in full growth and producing condition, it does not require 



