November, 1912.] 369 



THE CULTIVATION OF BANANAS. 



The Banana or, as we know it here, the plantain has within recent 

 years come to receive more careful cultivation than it did before, and is 

 now the main subsidiary crop in the opening up of land for coconuts in 

 the North-western Province, while being the chief cultivation in parts of 

 the Kegalle and Dumbara districts. In the low-country the principal 

 variety grown is the "honarawala" which has a subacid taste for which 

 it is preferred by the Eurpeans to the "kolikuttu" or table plantain, the 

 variety that is most appreciated locally. Up-country, the common plan- 

 tain is the "suwandel" which is rarely met with in the lowlands. The 

 fruit is characterised by mealiness and a slight fragrance to which it owes 

 its native name. The finest of these are met with in the neighbourhood 

 of Teldeniya. This plantain fruits at much higher elevations but does 

 not mature properly, with the result that it scarcely possesses any fruity 

 flavour and is indeed practically tasteless. 



The Superintendent of School Gardens some years ago introduced from 

 Queensland a number of new varieties, which included the well-known 

 Cavendish, Lady's Finger and Sugar. The Cavendish is the one most 

 universally grown in Queensland. It is said to be a Chinese variety of 

 relatively small habit, and for this reason is usually closely planted, say 

 12 to 16 feet apart each way. 



The other two varieties, Lady's Finger and Sugar, are both strong- 

 growing and must be planted from 20 to 25 feet apart each way. So 

 luxuriant is the growth in many cases with these strong-growing varieties 

 that one marvels at the amount of vegetable matter produced on an acre 

 of land, ceasing to wonder that the soil under bananas becomes rapidly 

 exhausted of available plant food. 



Except the " Sugar" the introduced varieties have not proved equal to 

 the best local ones. Both Cavendish and Lady's Finger resemble the 

 "anamalu" which has a somewhat rank flavour and is accordingly 

 reckoned as one of the inferior kinds. 



The variety chiefly grown iu the West Indies and in Fiji is the Gros 

 Michel. In the latter Colony it is largely used as a shade plant in young 

 cocoa plantations, giving at the same time a regular revenue until the 

 cocoa trees come into beaiing. 



In a pamphlet on the manuring of Bananas by Mr. J. M. Hattrick, 

 the author gives the following conditions as essential to successful 

 cultivation :— 



(1) An adequate and regular rainfall. 



(2) A sufficiently and consistently high temperature. 



(3) Shelter from winds. 



(4) Good alluvial or scrub land. 



He further adds that the presence of a large proportion of humus in 

 the soil is very advantageous, and for that reason he favours the use of 

 organic instead of inorganic fertilizers, as, apart from adding the necessary 

 plant food to the soil, they improve its physical condition, 

 47 



