»6o 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



Habitat. 



The banana and the plantain, formerly held to be two dis- 

 tinct species of the genus Musa, are now considered by 

 many botanists as simply varieties of the same plant, which 

 is a native of both the old and the new world tropics. The 

 plantain is usually eaten unripe as a vegetable, and is not 

 exported to any extent. The banana, however, is a fruit 

 esteemed highly by the inhabitants of cold as well as hot 

 climates, and it is exported from the West Indies in great 

 The banana quantities to the United States. Jamaica is now the centre 

 of the banana trade of the West Indies. In 1881 the ex- 

 ports were 217,592 bunches valued at ^22,665 i6s. 8^., and 

 in 1888 they had increased to 3,093,393 bunches valued at 

 £^0,672. 



There are a great number of varieties of the banana, as 

 might be expected when it is remembered that the plant is 

 cultivated throughout the whole tropical world — on different 

 soils, in different climates, and under different conditions. 

 The kinds most liked, however, in the American markets are 

 the Martinique variety with its large yellow fruits, and the 

 Cuban variety which has shorter and thicker fruits with a 

 dull-red skin. The Martinique kind is now the principal 

 one exported, and it is known throughout the United States 

 as the Jamaica banana. In Dominica it is called ' Figue la 

 rose,' and in Trinidad ' Gros MicheV banana. The banana 

 is often called ' fig ' or ' figue ' in the West Indies. 



trade of 

 Jamaica 



Varieties. 



the best 

 soil. 



Soil. — The banana will grow in nearly every soil, except 

 those composed almost wholly of sand or of calcareous mat- 

 ters, although even in these situations the plants will struggle 

 on and perhaps bear small bunches of inferior fruits. The 

 best soil for the cultivation of the plant is a warm, well- 

 drained, but rather moist, deep loam, with a good pro- 

 portion of humus. In such a soil, and with a favourable 

 climate, bananas will yield enormous crops. A writer on 

 the subject has given the following table showing what 



