162 THE BANANA 



The Atlas Line of the Hamburg-Amerika Linie have at 

 present eight ships occupied in carrying bananas from the 

 West Indies to New York. These steamers carry between 

 25,000 and 35,000 bunches each, and two steamers are 

 about to be replaced by larger steamers carrying about 

 50,000 bunches each. In all, therefore, they are able to 

 transport between 250,000 and 280,000 bunches per 

 month, the steamers making one round trip every four 

 weeks. They have not begun yet to carry bananas from 

 the West Indies to Europe. 



The Compagnie G6nerale Transatlantique have no 

 steamers specially built for carrying bananas, but, on 

 the Havre-Bordeaux-Colon Line, the steamers, which are 

 provided with cool chambers, call on the return journey 

 for bananas at Martinique and Guadeloupe. 



The Pacific Steam Navigation Company carry bananas 

 by steamers calling homewards from Las Palmas, Canary 

 Islands. There is a regular fortnightly mail service, 

 and a fortnightly intermediate service. Two hundred 

 crates are taken once a month to Havre. Bananas are 

 also carried to London, Swansea, and Liverpool by 

 steamers going direct from Las Palmas to one of these 

 ports. 



The Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company carry bananas 

 from the Canary Islands as a small adjunct to their trade 

 between New Zealand and England. All their steamers 

 homeward bound call at Teneriffe on their way to London, 

 and almost all take some bananas on board. The quantity 

 by each steamer is very variable, being fairly large at the 

 height of the banana season. The fruit is carried for the 

 most part on deck and arrives in good condition. 



The New Zealand Shipping Company have mail steamers 

 calling at Teneriffe every four weeks, and cargo steamers 

 about every three weeks, which bring to London crates of 

 bananas varying in quantity from 1000 to 10,000 crates 

 according to the season. They are carried chiefly on deck 

 or in shelter deck spaces on deck. 



The steamers of the Union-Castle Line carry bananas 



