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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



variety throughout the American tropics. 

 One of these, the "Five Hundred," is 

 noted for the enormous size of its stem, 

 frequently reaching more than 12 hands, 

 with over 200 fingers, and when the fruit 

 is small there are sometimes from 300 to 

 500 on a single stem. A San Domingan 

 variety, on the other hand, produces 

 bunches of only 10 to 25 fingers, each 

 plantain a foot long and weighing from 

 two to four pounds. 



In general the fruit of the plantains is 

 more fibrous in texture and larger than 

 that of the Musa sapienthim, which is the 

 species most widely cultivated for ex- 

 port, and nearly all varieties of which 

 are commonly referred to as the banana. 

 Most of the former are cooked green, 

 few of them being edible raw, while the 

 latter, because of its superior flavor and 

 the high percentage of sugar which it 

 carries, is in high favor as a table fruit. 



The species Musa sapienthim, of In- 

 dian origin, is represented in America by 

 many varieties, each differing from the 

 other slightly in size, shape, color, and 

 flavor of fruit, and the number to a stem. 

 It has greater resistance than other spe- 

 cies, produces bunches more compact and 

 regular, of a uniform weight and size, 

 that stand transporting better, and the 

 fruit is well formed and succulent. 



In Costa Rica the species ordinarily 

 attains a height of 25 feet from the 

 ground to apex, although it frequently 

 reaches 30 feet, and has been known to 

 increase in height three feet in a single 

 month. The Congo variety grows to 18 

 feet, while the dwarf guineo, indigenous 

 to China, reaches but six to nine feet, 

 with very small fruit. The latter is much 

 admired for the beauty of its leaf and is 

 frequently found in the patios of the 

 homes and the public plazas of the towns, 

 where its influence is commanding, ex- 

 erting a truly tropical charm. 



The total area to bananas in the sev- 

 eral districts adjacent to Costa Rica's 

 Atlantic seaboard is approximately 80,000 

 acres, one-third of which is owned and 

 cultivated by the United Fruit Company. 

 Altogether there are some 200 small out- 

 side growers of the fruit, for the most 

 part Americans and Europeans, a few 

 of whom have holdings reaching several 

 thousand acres each. The line of rail- 



way connecting the banana belt with tide- 

 water being controlled by the United 

 Fruit Company, all outside fruit grown 

 in the country is sold to that company, 

 nine-tenths of it being grown under con- 

 tract for the company to purchase at a 

 price agreed upon in advance, which 

 ranges from 15 to 30 cents gold per 

 bunch, according to grade. The com- 

 pany also owns a large fleet of specially 

 constructed ships, which carry the fruit 

 to overseas markets. 



Costa Rica at present exports annually, 

 in round numbers, 10 million bunches of 

 bananas, and this quantity is exceeded 

 only by that of Jamaica, which is ap- 

 proximately 12 million. It is probable 

 the latter figures will soon be equalled in 

 Costa Rica, when the large areas of new 

 ground now being brought under cultiva- 

 tion become productive. During the 

 busiest season an average of a steamer 

 a day leaves Port Limon with fruit for 

 the American and English markets, the 

 exportation sometimes reaching a total 

 of over a million bunches in a month. 



Of the country's exports, approxi- 

 mately four-fifths go to the United States 

 and one-fifth to England. Of the fruit 

 sent to the United States, nearly one-half 

 enters through New Orleans, which is 

 the most important banana port in the 

 world, with a total importation of a little 

 less than 14 million bunches during the 

 fiscal year ended June 30, 1911, one- 

 fourth of which came from Costa Rica. 

 The remainder of the product is taken 

 by Boston, Mobile, and New York, in 

 the order named. 



The fruit is cut green, at different 

 stages of development, depending upon 

 the market for which it is intended. 

 That destined for New York and Boston, 

 a large part of which is consumed at 

 those ports without an additional haul by 

 rail, is cut at a more advanced stage of 

 development than fruit going to more 

 distant ports, or which is to be reshipped 

 to the interior by rail. Thus a large pro- 

 portion of the fruit entering at New Or- 

 leans and Mobile is cut at an earlier stage 

 of development than that sent to New 

 York ; the fruit for the English markets 

 is cut still less mature. The first is called 

 '■full" fruit, the second "three-quarters 

 full," and the last "three-quarters." 



