THE CUBA REVIEW. 



25 



AGRICULTURAL MATTERS. 



Facts About Bananas. 



Many people imagine that the natives 

 step out of their huts in the early morning 

 and pluck and eat bananas fresh from the 

 plant, the same as they would oranges 

 and other fruits. Bananas ripened on the 

 plant are not suitable for food. 



Bananas, even after traveling 3,000 

 miles in a green state, are every bit as 

 good as bananas ripened under a tropical 

 sun. This is probably true of no other 

 export fruit. 



A word of explanation concerning some 

 banana terms : Each banana is called a 

 "finger," and each of these little clusters of 

 fingers surrounding a stalk is called a 

 "hand" ; the quality and value of each bunch 

 depend on the number of hands it has. 

 The fruit is secured from the top of a 

 plant fifteen feet from the ground by the 

 following method. 



The native laborers cut the stalk part 

 way up its height; the weight of the fruit 

 causes the stalk to slowly bend over until 

 the bunch of bananas first nicely reaches 

 the ground; then the bunch is cut off with 

 the ever-ready machete and carried to the 

 river or railroad io: shipment. — Los An- 

 geles California Fruit Grower. 



Rubber From the Banana Plant. 



According to the Daily Chronicle of 

 Georgetown, British Guiana. Mr. George 

 C. Benson, who is said to have already 

 achieved some success in the extraction 

 of rubber from the banana plant, sends 

 the following particulars with regard to 

 the banana rubber: 



"About two years ago, whilst experi- 

 menting with some banana juice, so as 

 to find out how best to mordant it, a 

 thick and pliable rubber was found to 

 attach itself to the sides of the enamel 

 dish which held the juice. The rubber 

 was ultimately sent to England and to 

 America, and it was found to be what is 

 known as a synthetic rubber, and when 

 compounded with other rubbers it ap- 

 peared to have a distinct market value, 

 by increasing both the weight and the 

 value of the rubbers with which it was 

 compounded." — Barbadoes News. 



To Increase Yield of Bananas. 



Complete manuring without potash, 

 per acre, superphosphate, 340 lbs.; sul- 

 phate of ammonia, 170 lbs.: 200 bunches. 



Complete manuring with potash, per 

 acre, superphosphate, 340 lbs.; sulphate 

 of ammonia, 170 lbs.; sulphate of potash, 

 230 lbs.: 240 bunches. 



No_ manure, per acre: 170 bunches. — 

 Tropical Life, London. 



Peanut Oil Cake. 



Arachide (peanut or ground nut) cake, 

 is not thought well of by Danish farm- 

 ers. They say that though the analysis 

 of this food runs very high and compares 

 favorably with the analysis of the cot- 

 tonseed cake, practical tests indicate 

 that it is not as nutritious as the latter, 

 which presents its nutriments of protein, 

 fat, and carbohydrates to the animal in 

 a more digestible form, and moreover, 

 that the manure from cattle fed the cot- 

 tonseed cake seems to have better fertil- 

 izing qualities than that from cattle fed 

 the arachide cake. 



Grapefruit as a Medicme. 



A medical opinion widely quoted states : 

 "The sharp stimulus of the grapefruit is 

 the best thing to set the digestion in order 

 for the day." Invalids find it the right 

 thing to give tone to the system, and it is a 

 sure preventive when partaken of freely 

 for the enervation caused by climatic con- 

 ditions. It possesses in a remarkable de- 

 gree the virtues of quinine without pro- 

 ducing any of its bad effects, and may be 

 given with benefit in malarial fevers. For 

 medicinal purposes the entire fruit may be 

 cut up into slices upon which boiling wate:." 

 is poured, put into a pitcher and left to 

 cool. A glass of this before meals and at 

 bedtime will prove an excellent tonic. 



It is also highly recommended as a 

 great relief for bright's disease, rheuma- 

 tism, malaria and many other complaints, 

 and working favorably on the kidneys more 

 promptly than any other fruit acid. 



Hawaii's Trade in Canned Pineapples. 



The pineapple canning industry of the 

 Hawaiian Islands is steadily growing. In 

 1901 a canning factory was established 

 at Hozan. Its output since is as fol- 

 lows: 1904, 94,400 cans; 1905, 98,000 

 cans; 1906 220,000 cans; 1907, 330,000 

 cans, and 1908, 350,00 cans. Honolulu's 

 output for the present year is estimated 

 at 350,000 cases. This industry can be 

 made as profitable in Cuba as in more 

 distant Hawaii. The total exportations 

 of canned fruit, which must consist large- 

 ly of pineapples, reached a value in 1907 

 of $369,223; in 1908, $586,718, and in 1909 

 of $1,057,283. These official figures are 

 for the ten months ending October. 



It is stated that on Dec. 11 the ther- 

 mometer dropped as low as 22 degrees at 

 Riverside, Cal., and that on Dec. 9 cold 

 weather hurt oranges in the Pomona terri- 

 tory, as did the frost at the same time last 

 year. — N. Y. Fruitman's Guide. 



