g22 FOBEST *EEBS. 



being clieap, the banana possesses the great advan- 

 tage over most other fruits of being available all the 

 year round. One or two varieties of the species are 

 exclusively cultivated for their soft flexible leaves, 

 which are popularly used by the better classes to 

 serve food upon, in lieu of dishes. Musa sapientum 

 var. Paradisiacti affords the plantain, which differs 

 from the banana in being larger, coarser, and un- 

 suited for eating in the raw state. The stem of the 

 plantain tree is green, while the bracts are purple 

 on the inner face. The banana, on the other hand, 

 has a purple-spotted stem and its bracts are green- 

 coloured on the inner face. The plantain, or cook- 

 ino- variety, is not so abundant in this province as it 

 is on the plains of India, where the preparation of 

 the fruit is better understood. 



The following varieties of banana and plantain 

 are commonly met with in local cultivation. 



Kan- 



Cultivation. — Seed is rarely produced by the 

 domesticated forms of this variable species ; but pro- 

 pagation is readily effected by the division of offsets, 

 which are freely produced around the parent stem. 

 To obtain the finest crops of fruit, the banana 

 requires frequent irrigation and liberal treatment in 

 the application of plant food. Alluvial silt, reddish 



