194 THE BANANA 



best volcanic land is treated. The first cost of getting the 

 land cleared, cultivated, and ready for planting out is very 

 heavy, ranging up to 20 per acre, but in some cases sugar- 

 cane land is being dealt with at but little cost. The trees 

 come into bearing in about eighteen months, and then bear 

 continuously." 



" Bananas do best," according to the Queensland Agri- 

 cultural Journal, " on rich scrub soil, and it is no detriment 

 to their growth if it is more or less covered with stones, so 

 long as there is sufficient soil to set the young plants 

 Bananas are frequently the first crop planted in newly 

 burnt-off scrub land, as they do not require any special 

 preparation of such land ; and the large amount of ash 

 and partially burnt and decomposed vegetable mould 

 provide an ample supply of food for their use. They can, 

 moreover, be grown successfully on land that has been 

 under cultivation for many years, provided that the soil 

 is rich enough naturally, or its fertility is maintained by 

 judicious green and other manuring. In newly burnt-oft' 

 scrub land all that is necessary is to dig holes 15 to 18 in. 

 in diameter and about 2 ft. deep, plant the suckers, and 

 partly fill in the hole with good top soil. Small-growing 

 kinds, such as the Chinese, are planted at from 12 to 15 ft. 

 apart each way ; but large-growing bananas, such as the 

 sugar and Lady's Finger, as well as the plantains, require 

 from 20 to 25 ft. apart each way." 



The best means of maintaining the fertility of banana 

 lands has been the subject of careful scientific investiga- 

 tion, for an account of which see Chapter XII. The Kali- 

 syndicat of Berlin has published at the agricultural offices 

 of the Potash Syndicate in Sydney, New South Wales, a 

 pamphlet on the manuring of bananas by Mr. J. M 

 Hattrick, who quotes the results of experiments in Queens- 

 land and Fiji, which, he maintains, establish that " banana 

 plantations need not be abandoned, but by suitable 

 cultivation and manuring may be maintained indefinitely 

 in highly profitable production." 



The bulk of the Chinese bananas produced in the north 



