158 THE BANANA 



Georgio Importing and Steamship Company, and in its 

 infancy its operations were confined to the purchase of 

 bananas in the open market in Jamaica, where they loaded 

 one steamer per week carrying about 12,000 bunches. 

 From this small beginning the company has gradually 

 grown and become one of the largest growers of bananas 

 doing business in the tropics, at the present time chartering 

 twenty -two steamers plying from the ports of Port Antonio 

 in Jamaica ; Bluefields and Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua ; 

 Puerto Cortez, Honduras ; Frontera, Mexico ; Sama and 

 Sagua de Tanamo, Cuba ; and Santa Marta in Colombia, 

 to the New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 

 New Orleans divisions of the company in the United States. 

 The company imported during the year 1912 7,135,488 

 bunches of bananas. 



In 1905 Mr. Di Georgio, wishing to enter into a larger 

 field, organized and incorporated the Atlantic Fruit Com- 

 pany under the laws of the State of Delaware ; and it was 

 reorganized in 1911 under the name of the Atlantic Fruit 

 and Steamship Company, acquiring 196,000 acres of land 

 in Nicaragua and about 35,000 acres in Cuba, besides 

 securing long-term leases on about 35,000 acres of banana 

 land in Jamaica. The tonnage grew to such an extent 

 that the company entered into an agreement with the 

 Hamburg-American Line to take care of part of their 

 tonnage. In January 1913 additional foreign interests 

 were taken into the company, and the Atlantic Fruit 

 Company was formed to take over the business of the 

 Atlantic Fruit and Steamship Company. 



Exports from Plantations A Variable Amount. The 

 number of bunches exported from each country differs 

 from year to year, the amount being dependent on various 

 conditions of climate, such as drought and heavy winds. 

 For instance, the quantities exported to all sources from 

 Jamaica were in the year 1907, 16 millions ; in 1908, 

 14 millions ; in 1909, 16| millions ; in 1910, they fell to 

 14 millions, and in 1911 rose again to 16 J millions. The 

 exports of bananas from Costa Rica were a little over 



