DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 329 



They are peeled and sliced either longitudinally or transversely and dried first in the 

 oven and then in the sun. They are then packed in boxes or wrapped in dry leaves 

 for exportation. In this form they are quite sweet and sugary and have a delightful 

 flavor. In Tahiti and the neighboring islands belonging to France bananas preserved 

 in this way are called "piere." 



Banana flour. — This is made from unripe bananas, which are first put into scalding 

 water so as to facilitate peeling, sliced, dried in vacuum or in the sun, powdered and 

 sifted. In British Guiana it is called by the natives " conquintay." It has a fra- 

 grant odor, acquired in drying, somewhat resembling fresh hay or tea. The fruit is 

 gathered green, before its starch is converted into sugar. The flavor of the meal is 

 enhanced by quick drying. Steel knives must not be used in slicing the fruit, since 

 they discolor the meal. Knives with silver or nickel blades are preferable. The 

 flour may be used in a measure as a substitute for arrowroot. Samples fit for expor- 

 tation contain about 15 per cent of water. The flour is packed in boxes or barrels 

 lined with paper. It is of a yellow color and has an agreeable sweetish taste. It 

 combines readily with water, milk, or broth. It can not be made into bread, but is 

 a fine ingredient for biscuits or cakes. « 



In a country like Guam, where hurricanes, followed by scarcity of food, are liable 

 to occur at any time, it would be of the greatest advantage to the natives to keep on 

 hand a supply of banana flour, as well as of dried breadfruit and fadang meal.& 

 References: 



Musa paradisiaca L. Sp. PI. 2: 1043. 1753. 

 Musa sapientum L. See under Musa paradisiaca. 



Musa textilis. Abaca. 



Local names. — Abaka (Guam, Philippines). 



This plant has been introduced into Guam, and attempts were made to cultivate it 

 on the island by several governors and by the Sociedad Agricola de la Conception, in 

 1867, during the administration of Don Francisco Moscoso y Lara. It grows well; a 

 fine patch of it may still be seen on the border of the "Cienaga," near Matan-hanom, 

 the source of the Agana River; but the preparation of its fiber required too much 

 work on the part of the natives. They have other plants suitable for cordage, which 

 require little trouble to prepare them for their uses; and the cultivation of this 

 species, though quite possible in Guam, has never been an industry of the island. 



Unlike the allied banana and plantain, the fruits of Musa textilis are fertile. The \ 

 plant may be propagated from the seed, but it is usually propagated from suckers, as 

 in the case of the banana and plantain. When the plants are cut down at maturity 

 they are replaced by suckers which spring up from the root, so that the plantation is 

 constantly renewing itself. When the flower bud makes its appearance the plant is 

 ready for the harvest. The stalk is cut close to the ground. The fiber is contained 

 in the long leaf sheaths which surround the stem. These are split into strips two or 

 three inches wide. The inner portion of the middle parts, which are thicker than 

 the marginal, is pulpy and comparatively useless, so that only the outer portion is 

 used. The fiber should be extracted while the strips are still fresh, since they 

 become quickly discolored if left in the sun, and the quality of the fiber is injured if 

 they are allowed to ferment. In the Philippines the fiber is extracted by drawing 

 the prepared strips of the leaf-sheath between the edge of a large knife or machete ' 

 and a block of hard wood. This is usually done under a tree or a thatch-covered 

 shed. Two posts are set upright in the ground, to which a horizontal pole is lashed 

 with rattans (in Guam Pandanus leaves or cords of Hibiscus bark would answer). 



" Xeish, Leuscher's method of preparing banana flour, Journ. Jamaica Agr. Soc, 

 Nov., 1903, p. 440. See also species and principal varieties of Musa, Kew Bull. Misc. 

 Inf., 1894, p. 228 to 314. 



b See Artocarpus communis and Cycas circinalis. 



