VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. 
193 
and the esculents of Cuba would doubtless flourish in the fruit- 
ful soil of the Isthmus. Indeed, the country is capable of pro- 
ducing in the greatest profusion all kinds of native vegetable 
growth ; but at present little more than enough is cultivated to 
supply the immediate wants of the inhabitants, whose agricultu- 
ral pursuits are conducted in the most primitive manner, and 
who (singular as it may appear) are often driven, by their in- 
dolent habits, to the verge of famine and the extremes of suffering. 
But when we reflect upon the productiveness of the soil, the 
salubrity, of the climate, and the boundless character of the vege- 
tation of the Isthmus, it is not difficult to see how great must be 
the reward which would crown the efforts of an industrious 
planter ; nor is it inappropriate to conclude that a few energetic 
farmers, without much difficulty, could grow sufficient in a sin- 
gle year to supply the demands of a whole army of employees. 
To what extent the banana might be substituted as an article of 
< food for the foreign laborers, is a consideration of no little im- 
portance, especially when it is known that on the same portion 
of land, and with the same quantity of labor, a much greater 
amount of nutritive substance can be produced than when 
planted with any kind of grain. Within eight months after 
planting, the banana begins to form clusters, and in the tenth or 
eleventh month of their growth, the fruit may be gathered. The 
green fruit is frequently cut in slices and dried in the sun, and 
being thus rendered friable, is reduced to powder, and serves the 
purposes of flour in many culinary preparations : it is also 
boiled, and cooked in a variety of ways. The facility with 
which this food is produced, gives it an advantage over every 
other alimentary substance in the same climate. The produce of 
the banana, as compared to that of wheat, is estimated as 133 
to 1 ; and to potatoes, as 44 to 1. 
A popular belief exists among foreigners, that the banana is 
unhealthy as an article of food, and that with persons not accli- 
mated it is difficult of digestion. If the experience of the mem- 
bers of the survey (by whom it was indiscriminately used) may 
be considered as having any weight, this opinion with regard 
to the deleterious effects of the fruit would seem to need further 
confirmation. 
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