﻿204 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  H. 
  Wimmer 
  

   CUTTING 
  BANANAS 
  ON 
  A 
  COSTA 
  RICAN 
  PLANTATION 
  

   A 
  cutting 
  "gang" 
  usually 
  consists 
  of 
  three 
  men. 
  The 
  "cutter 
  " 
  using 
  a 
  long 
  pole 
  to 
  

   which 
  a 
  special 
  kind 
  of 
  knife 
  is 
  attached, 
  nicks 
  the 
  tree 
  trunk—in 
  reality 
  a 
  leaf-sheath— 
  a 
  few 
  

   feet 
  beneath 
  the 
  bunch, 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  which 
  makes 
  the 
  trunk 
  bend 
  where 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  cut. 
  

   The 
  bananas 
  are 
  then 
  eased 
  upon 
  the 
  shoulders 
  of 
  the 
  "backer, 
  ' 
  who 
  carries 
  them 
  to 
  the 
  

   "muleman," 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  freight 
  cars. 
  The 
  tree 
  is 
  then 
  cut 
  off 
  near 
  the 
  roots, 
  its 
  decayed 
  stalk 
  

   acting 
  as 
  a 
  fertilizer 
  for 
  the 
  soil. 
  

  

  

  