94 

 specimens may T^e prepared and worked up into marmaldes, or 

 what is sometimes called "preserves." 



Pineapple Ji'bre . The plant after maturing a fruit gives 

 rise to one or more suckers and later in the season dies to 

 ■become a waste in the field. In this form it is of very 

 little use except that it fonns a slight covering or laulch. 

 During the dry season it ma;'- even 'becorae a source of danger 

 f r om ace i de nt al fires. 



There are said to Tae alaout 60 pounds of fiher in a ton of 

 green leaves, aTaout double the amount in a ton of green ramie 

 stalks. The fiber has many qualities that give it superior 

 merit, and it will doubtless be used some da.y in the textile 

 industry. 



Banana, Musa sapientura (Linn.) 

 Description and Hab it at 



Stoloniferous , stem tall cylindrical, leaves petioled, 

 spike drooping, bracts ovate, many flowered, usually deciduous,, 

 calyx 5-toothed at the tip, petal shorter than the calyx, 

 fruit pulpy. 



Indigenous in Behar and the Eastern Himalayas ascending 

 to 4,000 ft,, Ceylon ; cultivated throughout India and the 

 tropics. Distribution, Malay Isles, etc. 



Stem 8-12 ft. Leaves 4-5 ft, oblong, bright green 

 above, paler beneath. Inflorescence about as long as the 

 leaves ; bracts ovate, more or less pinnose, lower 6-8 in,, 

 upper much shorter, falling before the fruit matwes. Calyx 



