45 



and abundantly watered. There should not be allowed to remain more 

 than three stems to each plant, and the suckers, which will be constantly 

 springing up, should be removed as soon as they make their appearance. 

 The stem that has once borne fruit should be cut down close to the 

 ground, as it will never bear a second time, and a fresh sucker should 

 be allowed to grow up to replace it. The plantain, however, as it 

 appears to me, soon wears out the soil in which it grows, and is 

 immensely benefitted, I consider, by removal about every two or three 

 years into entirely new ground." 



In Ceylon the cultivation of bananas is almost entirely in the hands of 

 natives who grow them around their dwellings for shade as well as for 

 the fruit. The Ceylon Directory states that while the mango, jambu, 

 and several other fruits are particularised in the Mahdvansa (a metrical 

 chronicle in Pali of Ceylon from B.C. 543 to A.D. 1750) no mention is 

 made of the plantain. The area under cultivation now in the island is 

 said to be not less than 24,000 acres. " It affords to some extent here, 

 as in almost every other country in which it is grown, an excuse for 

 idleness. Dilke calls it ' the devil's agent ' so little labour is required 

 for the rich return in fruit." In the absence of a market abroad for 

 the fresh fruit, only enough is grown to supply local wants. 



In 1892 the " Jamaica banana " (known also in the West Indies 

 as the Martinique banana, in Dominica as the figue la rose, and in 

 Trinidad as the Gros Michel banana) was successfully introduced 

 through the aid of Kew from Jamaica to British New Guinea. Sir 

 William MacGregor, K.C.M.G., in acknowledging the safe arrival of 

 the shoots and suckers, mentioned that in September 1892 they were 

 growing at the Government Station in the Mekes district. He adds, 

 " I have hopes that in the future they may become a valuable export 

 from this place." 



A great many different kinds of Musas are cultivated in the Islands 

 of Polynesia. They may be arranged in two natural groups under the 

 native names " fei" (MusaFehi, Vieill.) and "maya " (Musa sapientum). 



The dwarf or Chinese banana, known in Fiji as " Vudi ni papalagi " 

 (i.e., foreign banana), though introduced, as already mentioned, within 

 the last 50 years is now widely cultivated everywhere. 



In 1889 the Governor of Fiji reported that " the quantity of bananas 

 exported from the islands is now considerably over half a million 

 bunches per annum, and in the Colony the trade may be said to have 

 been thoroughly established." 



As described by Mr. John Home, F.L.S., in A Year in Fiji, p. 81 : — 



" Banana plantations abound everywhere, and extensively so in Colo, 

 in the mountain districts of Viti Levu. They are planted along the 

 sides of the road to shade the traveller from the sun, sometimes forming 

 avenues miles in length or more. The fruit on these trees is tabu, that 

 is forbidden to travellers. The tabu is invariably respected by the 

 natives. 



" Bananas are planted in rows, 8 feet apart, and the same distance 

 is allowed between each tree. Suckers from the sides of old roots are 

 used as plants, the leaves being cut off before planting. The soil in the 

 place where the young tree is to be planted is dug in a circle of about 

 3 feet in diameter, and to the depth of 2 feet, and well manipulated." 



The Report of the Agricultural and Industrial Association of Fiji for 

 the year 1889 shows that the export value of bananas for the previous 

 year was about 42,000/. and there is no reason why it should not be 

 more than doubled. Care and attention have been latterly bestowed 



