327 
with the chopped up stems which have just fruited. This form of 
mulching keeps the ground cool and checks the growth of the weeds. 
The bavana is not left on the plant until fully ripe, but is cut 
about a week er ten days before. If intended to be shipped long 
distances the spike is cut even earlier, being what is called “three- 
quarters” fit, and the fruit gradually becomes yellowish and more 
sugary. The bunch must be cut with a portion of the stem retained 
for easier handling, and the terminal bud is removed. When trans- 
ferred to market it need be aandled with the greatest care, as a 
bruise that may not be apparent at ihe time will soon cause decay 
of the delicate tissue of the fruit. A great number of bunches are 
rejected when repacking for market cwing to careless handling in 
the fields or during transit. Three grades of bananas are cut from 
the bunch, large, mediiun and smell. They are packed in crates 
with open slats, and should be stacked on deck in the open air, 50 
to 46 doz. pcr erate. 
Every banana-growing ccuntry proves that until growers can 
inarket this fruit in the bunch, their industry will not be the success 
it should be. The success of Fiji in the Australian market; of Jam- 
aica in Europe and America is largely owing to the fact that most 
of the fruit arrives in wunches. 
The weight of the bunch at times pulls the plant down unless 
it is propped up by means of a forked stick or a stake sharpened 
at each end, one in the ground and the other into the soft stem. 
Bananas which ripen on the plant lose the delicate flavour of 
those cut from bunches removed when fully grown, but before the 
ripening stage has set in. 
The “plantain” is gathered at cifferent stages. When three- 
fourth grown it is rather milky and contains much starch. At that 
stage, if boiled or roasted in ashes, it is almost as nourishing as 
bread. Shortly after this stage, when full grown but. still 
green, it is not so starchy, but contains more sugar. In this 
state it is eaten as an accompaniment to meat. Lastly, when quite 
ripe it becomes sugary, and is then eaten either raw, roasted in 
ashes, or in the form of fritters. 
The banana is seldom eaten cooked in the unripe stage, but is 
allowed to mature, when it is soft, full of sugar, melting, and is pos- 
sessed of a peculiar perfume. 
The Banana constitutes a perfect food. Medical men recognise 
that banana flour is excellent as a food for infants and invalids. 
The scientific name of the fruit—Musa sapientum—means “food for 
the wise man.” 
As regards its food value, it is more nutritive than the potato. 
1t contains 27 per cent. of dry nutritive matter; the potato gives 
25. The 27 per cent. of dry matter are approximately made up 
of 2 per cent. of nitrogenous matter and 22 per cent. of saccharine 
