172 THE BANANA 



as that to England. Trials were made by the firm of 

 Messrs. Cockburn, Hemelryck and Co,, of London, and 

 consisted in carrying the banana in pulverized peat. 

 The account stated that, after several unsuccessful 

 attempts, satisfactory results were obtained. Experiments 

 had demonstrated the necessity for picking the fruits as 

 soon as they had lost their green appearance, and of packing 

 them in a special kind of peat which had been completely 

 freed from all earthy matter. The preserving action of the 

 peat was stated to consist in its possession of absorbent 

 properties, by which it protects the fruit from external 

 moisture, and from the decay that results from the presence 

 of this. 



The issue of the same paper for October 1910 makes 

 reference to the above account, and goes on to describe 

 experiments of a similar nature that have been undertaken 

 recently with bananas from the Cameroons and from 

 Togo. A first consignment in peat, unfortunately, how- 

 ever, containing only five banana fruits among several 

 kilogrammes of fresh kola, was sent in December 1909 

 from the Cameroons to Hamburg. On arrival, the fruits 

 were found to be in good condition, and remained in this 

 state for several days. Equally satisfactory results have 

 been obtained by the administrator of the plantations of 

 Bibundi, in the Cameroons, who has succeeded in exporting 

 bananas which arrived in good condition for the Hamburg 

 market. It is estimated by one authority that it will be 

 possible to export bananas in peat, on a commercial scale, 

 from the Cameroons and Togo to Hamburg, at a net profit 

 of between \d. and Id. per fruit. 



The same article finally points out that, according to the 

 Natal Agricultural Journal for March 1910, in Natal, where 

 methodical experiments in connexion with the export of 

 bananas have been conducted for several years, it is con- 

 sidered that well-dried maize husks are superior to peat as 

 a medium for transporting bananas to Europe. Consign- 

 ments of the fruit, large enough to be of commercial 

 importance, made during last season, confirm the results 



