AFRICA 213 



A number of plantations of the Canary Islands banana 

 have been established in the neighbourhood of Konakry. 

 Communications with France have been established ; 

 consignments first despatched in 1902 have been con- 

 tinued every month. The experience, however, of planters 

 is that in Guinea the culture of the banana ought to be 

 intensive, and that it would be imprudent to attempt it 

 on a large scale ; M. Henry recommends that a plantation 

 should not exceed 20 hectares (say about 50 acres). 



Whereas in the Canary Islands the young plants 

 generally begin to bear fruit a year or eighteen months 

 after being planted out, in French Guinea they bear at the 

 end of eight or ten months. But the suckers left with the 

 mother-plant will often bear fruit when only four months 

 old, if the land is irrigated and well supplied with chemical 

 manures. The bunches must be supported with posts, 

 otherwise the weight of the fruit is apt to bring down the 

 plant. About sixty to eighty days intervene between 

 the time of flowering and the ripening of the fruits. When 

 ripe, the bunches are cut in the evening, put in an airy place 

 for the night to sweat, and packed on the following morning. 

 Plenty of bananas reach Europe during June, July, and 

 August. Ripening may be retarded for a month or so by 

 cutting off the extremity of the bunch with the sterile 

 bracts, so that the bananas may come to Europe a month 

 later, when there is more demand. A banana plant seldom 

 yields good bunches in its first year, but in its second year 

 will yield bunches worth exporting. 



In French Guinea, as well as in the Canary Islands, 

 the soil is generally poor and requires manure, and in both 

 an intensive system of culture pays best. 



Three principles must be observed : (1 ) fruit formation 

 should be discouraged during the wet season, when crop- 

 ping and transit are difficult ; (2) application of manure 

 during the wet season is almost entirely wasted ; (3) 

 chemical manures must be applied gradually to ensure 

 their producing the maximum effect. 



In packing, the bananas are carefully brushed, en- 



