VII THE BANANA 163 



should be firmly pressed down by the feet all round the 

 sucker, so as to prevent the entry of too much air to dry up 

 the roots when they shoot forth. By some planters it is Set the 

 advised to plant the suckers in a slanting direction, but this ^"r'ili^ht in 

 is a bad system, and has nothing whatever to recommend it. the ground. 

 The so-called stem of the plantain and banana grows uj) 

 perfectly straight, and when the young plant is out of the 

 perpendicular, a portion of the energy of growth is expended 

 in the effort to straighten the stem. 



Cultivation. — There is perhaps no tropical plant easier 

 of cultivation than the banana. The suckers having been 

 planted out at the commencement of the rainy season, they Crops. 

 will grow vigorously and produce fruit in about a year. The 

 land must be kept free of weeds ; and an occasional turn- 

 ing up of the soil will prove beneficial. Before the plant 

 throws out its flowering stem, suckers will make their appear- 

 ance above the ground and these will require careful atten- 

 tion. Whilst the plant is young all the suckers except one Cutting out 

 should be cut away, the best plan being to sever them with a ^^^ suckers. 

 sharp spade. Thus all the vigour of the plant is thrown into 

 the fruiting of the first stem and the growth of the one to sup- 

 plant it, and in this way fine large bunches can be reckoned 

 on. Afterwards, when the stool has matured, from three to The number 

 five stems may be allowed to grow ; but, on no consideration, ^'^'^n^s. 

 should a larger number be permitted to shoot up — if fine 

 bunches of fruit are looked for. The second stem usually Tiie size of 

 produces a finer bunch of fruit than the first, but as the land ^rw'''^"'^ 

 becomes exhausted, the bunches, of course, decrease in size, 

 and this shows the necessity for manure in some form or 

 other. After the stool has borne a crop or two, the earth 

 should be loosened round the stems, and manure or decayed 

 leaves and banana stems forked in, the whole being moulded Moulding 

 up with surface soil from the vicinity. When the stool shows "p- 

 signs of exhaustion, as it probably will after a few years, it 

 should be stumped out, and a fresh sucker planted in its Replanting. 



M 2 



