568 
newly-planted sucker to the plant in full 
pearing is simply short of marvelous. 
Within a space of six or seven weeks the 
2 or 3 foot plant has more than doubled 
in size, and a month or so later the 
leaves cease to unfold and a spike ap- 
pears out of the center of the crown. 
This is the future stalk of the bunch and 
carries a huge red blossom at the end. It 
develops rapidly, continually bending 
more and more until in a short time it 
has turned completely upon itself, so that 
the bananas grow end up or in a position 
the reverse of which they are usually 
hung. From 7 to 12 months after the 
blossom appears the fruit is ready for the 
gatherer. At irregular intervals along the 
entire stalk, and only extending part of 
the way round at any one place, the 
bracts break forth tiny ridges of flow- 
ers—which are almost immediately re- 
placed by 9 to 12 embryo bananas. These 
are the future “hands” of the bunch, so 
called on account of their resemblance to 
those members when held in a certain 
position. 
It is by means of these hands that the 
fruit is classified for shipping. A bunch 
of 9 hands or over (the average being 
10 to 12) constitute a “first;” between 
7 and 9, a “second.” Anything under 
this minimum is discarded by an in- 
spector at the wharf. Bunches of 17 
hands are exceptional, and those of this 
abnormal size are usually not shipped, 
owing to the inconvenience of storing in 
the steamer’s hold. 
Propagation 
The banana has a curious and prodigal 
method of propagation, for before the 
parent stalk and fruit have matured new 
ones spring up. These are offshoots that 
grow from the root of the original plant- 
ing, resembling the sprouts from the 
“eyes” of a potato, and each in turn be- 
comes a parent stalk with its fruit. It 
follows that unless most of the continual- 
ly appearing new plants are cut out 
(which is the practice) the first stalk in 
a few years will become the center of a 
Miniature jungle. The plants grow to a 
height of from 15 to 35 feet, spreading in 
all directions, until the soil is overbur- 
denéd with an enormous mass of stalk 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
and leaf growth, and stunted fruit is pro- 
duced. 
In cultivation, four suckers (which is 
another name for the shoots) are usually 
allowed to grow in one hill, and their 
graduation is so arranged that while the 
oldest is bearing fruit the next is in blos. 
som, the third is half grown, and the 
last is just coming forth from the ground. 
The banana plantation yields a contin- 
uous harvest for years without replant- 
ing. Some that are fifty years old are 
yielding today as prolifically as in their 
third or fourth year, but these are located 
in exceptionally fertile districts. The ro- 
tation of crops is unknown, and unless 
the land is subject to overflow it can 
hardly be profitable after ten years’ work- 
ing. 
Planting 
In planting for the market about 200 
hills are allowed to the acre. Sometimes 
the number can be safely increased to 
225, in which case there will be 900 stalks. 
However, after one year all of these stalks 
do not produce a marketable bunch of 
bananas, and the average yield is not 
over 300 full bunches to the acre per an- 
num. FRANKLIN ADAMS, 
Pan-American Union 
Banana Flour 
During the past two or three years 
many popular statements have appeared 
concerning banana flour or meal. Little 
reliable information, however, has ap- 
parently been available on this subject. 
Banana flour is prepared by cutting the 
fruit into suitable pieces, drying, and 
grinding. Several years ago the Royal 
Gardens, Kew (England), published a 
somewhat extended discussion of the food 
value of bananas and banana flour and 
stated that the latter article, according 
to the testimony of travelers, had been 
prepared by native inhabitants of tropi- 
cal countries since early times. The Con- 
necticut State Station recently published 
analyses of banana flour made from three 
sorts of bananas. In the following table 
the composition of these samples is 
shown. For purposes of comparison, the 
composition of fresh bananas, wheat flour, 
rice, and fresh and dried apples is also 
included. 
