Edible Products. 



212 



[.March, 1910. 



the liberal use of suitable fertilisers, 

 but this aspect of the question never 

 seems to strike many cultivators, while 

 others are probably too poor to give 

 effect to it. It is a matter that should 

 right itself in time as the demand for 

 still better rice increases. 



THE QUESTION OF A BANANA 

 INDUSTRY. 



By F, A. Stockdalb. 



(From the Journal of the Board of Agri- 

 culture of British Guiana, Vol. III., 



No. 2, October, 1909.) 

 During the past three months, the 

 question of the possibility of establish- 

 ing a banana industry in this colony 

 has been engaging attention in many 

 quarters. Correspondence has been 

 carried on through the medium of the 

 local press, and several public meetings 

 have been held in different villages, 

 particularly along the East Coast. 



This is not the first time such a ques- 

 tion has been raised. In 1888, the possi- 

 bilities of establishing a banana industry 

 were considered, and in May of that 

 year a resolution was agreed to in the 

 Combined Court recommending a sub- 

 sidy to the Bay State Fruit Company, 

 to be paid over a period of five years, to 

 establish a line of ships for the transport 

 of bananas from this colony to American 

 markets. Nothing, however, came of 

 this suggested enterprise, and in March, 

 1889, a petition was passed in favour of 

 another American company. A com- 

 mission was appointed to carefully con- 

 sider the matter, and it was recom- 

 mended in a preliminary report that 

 there should be placed upon the Esti- 

 mates for 1889-90, $10,000 to defray the 

 preliminary expense of encouraging the 

 cultivation of bananas suitable for 

 export, and that as soon as the Govern- 

 ment should be satisfied that the Fruit 

 and Banana Industry could be encour- 

 aged a subsidy for five years of $25,000 

 should be granted for transportation. 



A sum of $10,000 was accordingly - 

 placed upon the estimates but was not 

 expended, as those in the United States 

 of America supposed to be interested 

 in the movement took no further steps 

 to start the industry on business-like 

 lines, other than by supplying to the 

 colony 10,000 suckers of the Jamaican 

 variety of banana. Part of these were 

 planted in the Experimental Fields at 

 the Botanic Gardens, and an area of 

 somewhat over two acres was kept under 

 cultivation with them for three or four 

 years. By order of the late Quintin 



Hogg several acres were planted with 

 the suckers on the fields of La Penitence, 

 to the south of the Experimental Fields, 

 on which they grew in a sickly manner 

 for a few years and eventually died out. 

 In the final Report of the Commission 

 in 1895, it was stated— 



(1) That at that time there were no 

 regular cultivations of bananas, and 

 there were but few bananas grown on 

 plantain farms in an irregular way ; 



(2) That an average price of les3 than 

 25 cents per bunch would not pay the 

 growers, and 



(3) That no supply of bananas for an 

 export trade then existed. 



The Commission further expressed the 

 belief that the fruit could be profitably 

 cultivated to meet an export trade of 

 10,000 bunches a fortnight if suitable 

 arrangements could be made. 



In 1902, Professor Spawn came to the 

 colony in connection with banana and 

 coffee. Great interest was created in his 

 suggestions, but nothing came of them. 



In 1907, the Government made an effort 

 to ascertain whether an export trade in 

 bananas could be established on the 

 lines of the arrangement made between 

 the Government of Dutch Guiana and 

 the United Fruit Company. All the 

 attorueys and managers of sugar plant- 

 ations and village councils were circu- 

 larized, but of the forty-six replies 

 received only seven were favourable, 

 and therefore it was not considered 

 possible to make suitable arrangements 

 without an assurance that a large enough 

 area would be cultivated to guarantee 

 a sufficient number of bunches of bananas 

 being produced for export. 



The present movement has originated 

 with the people, who being advised of 

 the advances that are being made in 

 Surinam with the banana industry, and 

 of the fact that the line of steamers also 

 calls at this colony, are of the opinion 

 that arrangements could possibly be 

 made with this line, or some other, to 

 take bananas from this colony if they 

 were produced in sufficient quantity. It 

 is, therefore, thought that it might be 

 of advantage to give a brief review of 

 the present business in bananas, to 

 indicate what points would have to be 

 specially considered in connection with 

 the establishment of a banana industry 

 in this colony, and to give hints in regard 

 to cultural and other matters that would 

 be of value to the growers. 



The World's Trade in Bananas. 



I have not complete figures available 

 for the whole of the banana-producing 

 countries, but a consideration of those 



