The Banana Trade. 227 



, Berne. The gentlemen there made alcohol of meal, and wrote as 

 follows : — 



" II results de ce qui precede qu'il vaut tout k fait la peine d'utiliser 

 ces farines pour la fabrication d'alcool. La qualite de ralcool de farine 

 de bananes peut aussi etre envisagee comme bonne." In the conver- 

 sation about the objeft with those gentlemen, they gave their opinion 

 that the value of the meal would at least be that of maize, the starch 

 quantity of the meal being greater, the same opinion was given by some 

 manufaflurers of alcohol in Switzerland and in Holland. As proof of 

 how many stuffs can be employed for alcohol manufafturing, it may be 

 said that one not very large manufaftory in Holland employs on 

 an average 25,000 tons of maize a year. The same gentlemen, in Berne, 

 made experiments with glucose making, and said : — " II est evident 

 que la farine de bananes traitee de cette maniere pourrait etre encore 

 utilisee pour la fabrication de glucose," The value of the meal for 

 glucose would be more than one and a-half times that of maize, for 

 maize is not employed tor that fabrication, but only dearer sorts of 

 stuffs, as potato and sago meal. A certitude for the employment of the 

 meal for glucose manufa6luring can only be given by employing at 

 least a ton of the stuff, but there is very great probability it will also do 

 for that purpose. In the following calculations he estimates the value 

 of meal on the basis of maize, that is at this time being delivered by 

 ship in Europe at ;^5 to ;^5 los. For manufafluring 1,000 tons per 

 year of meal there would be needed an installation that would cost, 

 delivered and fixed on the estate, ;^2,ooo to ;^2,500. For a second 

 1,000 tons a similar installation would be needed, for it would be 

 difficult to make larger installations. For this reason it would also be 

 profitable to make the manufactory on the estate itself, for using the 

 bananas and plantains. The fabrication of i,coo tons will be taken as 

 a basis. Cost of reaping the fruit, preparing it and making the meal, 

 delivered on ship if there is water in the neighbourhood, can be put at 

 l8s. to 20s per ton ; for freight to Europe, i8s. to 25s. per ton. Thus 

 the average cost of the meal delivered in Europe would be £2 per ton. 

 He said the value would be at least that of maize, or ^5 to ;^5 los., so 

 that there would rest per ton of meal £2 to £2 los. So that for 1,000 

 tons an installation of ^2,000 to ;^2,5oo is wanted, and a quantity of 

 bananas or plantains of about the double or the triple of the meal in 

 average 1,500 tons, whilst the revenue would be ;^3,ooo to £3,500. In 

 the above given cyphers all exaggerations are avoided. So it is pro- 



