THE CUBA R E \' I E W^ 



27 



BANANAS AS MEDICINE 



The "Dictionary of the Economic Prod- 

 ucts of India" contains numerous extracts 

 from the opinions of medical men in India 

 on the value of the banana plant in 

 medicine. Civil Surgeon R. A. Parker, 

 M. D., states: "A combination of ripe 

 banana, tamarind and common salt is most 

 efficacious in dysentery. I have used it in 

 many cases, both of acute and chronic 

 forms of the disease, and seldom failed 

 to eflfect a cure. It ma}-, in fact, be said 

 to be a specific, and I can confidently re- 

 commend it to the profession as well as to 

 the public. It is simple, easily procurable, 

 and maj' safely be administered to a child. 

 It is not disagreeable to take, has no bad 

 effects, and is on the whole preferable 

 to ipecacuanha. In simple cases a single 

 dose is sufficient ; as a rule, three or four 

 doses are required to effect a cure. The 

 patient should be kept quiet and placed 

 on low diet. The dose for an adult is : 

 Ripe bananas, one ounce; the pulp of ripe 

 tamarind, half an ounce: common salt, 

 quarter of an ounce ; well mixed and ad- 

 ministered immediately. It may be given 

 two or three times a dav." Civil Surgeon 

 J. H. Thornton, B. A., :M. B., says: "The 

 juice of the tender roots contains a large 

 quantity of tannin and is used with muci- 

 lage for checking hremorrhages from the 

 genital and air passages. The ashes pro- 

 duced by burning the plant contain a large 

 amount of potash salts, and are used as 



an antacid in acidity, heartburn and colic. 

 The tender fruit is used as a diet for pa- 

 tients suft'ering from hsemoptysis and 

 diabetes." C. T. Peters, ]\I. B., says : "The 

 ripe fruit is useful in chronic dysentery 

 and diarrhrea. The dried fruit of the 

 larger varieties is a valuable anti-scorbutic. 

 The dried leaves and in fact the entire 

 plant is burnt, and the ashes dissolved in 

 water and strained yield an alkaline solu- 

 tion, containing chiefly potash salts, which 

 is used in curries, especially as a cure for 

 acidity and an anti-scorbutic." Ainslie 

 writes that the banana is "one of the safest 

 of fruits for such as have delicate stom- 

 achs, being entirely free from acidity ; it 

 is, moreover, very nourishing, and is al- 

 ways prescribed as food by the Hindoo 

 practitioners for such as suffer from bile 

 and heat of habit." — From notes on the 

 Banana by William Fawcett, B.Sc, F.L.G., 

 in the \Vest India Committee Circular, 

 London. 



PINEAPPLES IN 1912 



The Cuban pineapple crop for 1912, 

 which has just terminated, was according 

 to the Havana newspapers very much 

 larger and the exportations considerably 

 above those of last year, but prices have 

 been ruinous. 



The strike in Havana piled up the crates 

 and prevented shipments which resulted in 

 the rotting of the fruit before it could be 

 shipped. When the embargo w^as raised 

 and the fruit forwarded, it came to the 

 market in such quantities as to break 

 prices very badl}^ 



In the months of ]\Iay and June the ex- 

 portations were 900,000 crates. Compared 

 with the previous year, when for the same 

 period the exportations were 856,348 crates, 

 an increase is shown in favor of 1912 of 

 over 40,000 crates 



From January 1st to June 29, 1912, the 

 exportations from Havana by the various 

 steamboat lines totalled 1,061,889 crates. 

 For the same period in 1911 the exporta- 

 tions amounted to 926,730 crates. 



As has already been stated the prices 

 were low, except for that portion of the 

 crop which was sent earlier in the season. 

 Since the loth of May the prices rapidly 

 lowered. 



Ofiicial statistics give the 1911 crop as 

 2.5,775,314 kilos, against 32,851,340 kilos 

 exported during the year 1910. In 1909,. 

 31,000,003 kilos: 1908, 23,634,395 kilos; and 

 in 1907, 18.831,165 kilos. 



Almost the entire crop was exported to 

 the United States. 



Plan of wire connections for exploding dynamite 

 in the removal of stumps. 



Arrancando cepas por medio de explosivos. Aqiii 

 se muestra cl sistcma de alambrado. 



Strong winds are inimical to the success- 

 ful growth of coft'ee and plantations should 

 not face the windward side unless protected. 



