6o 
THE BANANA, HOW IT IS SHIPPED FROM THE WEST 
INDIES TO EUROPE. 
The bananas with which the British public is familiar, and 
with which Europe in general is becoming acquainted, are 
chiefly those which come from Jamaica and Costa Rica. The 
quantity brought from these countries exceeds by a million 
and a half bunches the quantity sent from the Canary Islands. 
The plant attains perfection on the alluvial soil along the 
coast line of Central America and in Jamaica. By tracing its 
progress from the point of loading to the point of delivery it is 
possible to obtain some idea of the amount of care and atten- 
tion which the shippers are bound to bestow on the fruit in 
order to ensure its reaching our shores in the proper condition. 
The fruit is necessarily gathered in the green state, and it is 
gradually ripened by the measures taken on shipboard, in the 
railway trucks, at the local distributing centres, and in the 
grocers' shops. In the banana ships it is kepj: at an even tem- 
perature by means of a cool air system, and when it arrives 
at Manchester or Bristol it is conveyed to all parts of the coun- 
try in specially fitted trains, heated by steam in the winter 
months and carefully ventilated in the hot weather. 
The steamers which have been built for the trade by Elders 
and Fyffes, are fine vessels, each with a capacity of 60,000 
bunches. They carry no other cargo, and are even sent out 
to the West Indies empty. A fleet of a dozen of these banana 
ships is kept constantly employed in bringing supplies of what 
is at once the most popular and nutritious of fruits. 
The unloading of a steamer after arrival is a sight worth 
seeing. The first step is to lift by crane-power the enormous 
cages filled with bananas, which occupy the space of the hatch- 
way area from the upper to the bottom deck. After these cages 
are removed, the hatchway being clear, it is possible to start 
discharging the fruit, with the aid of elevators, from either of 
the four or five decks as may be found expedient. It takes 
from 250 to 400 men to unload a single vessel, the cargo of 
which will fill about 500 railway trucks, and the work is in- 
variably accomplished in one day. 
In different parts of the country some 45 depots have been 
established, where the fruit is properly stored in large quanti- 
ties, and whence the retailers can draw their supplies. For 
dealing with the London trade there is a large warehouse at 
King's Cross, in which 20,000 bunches can be hung. The fruit 
is transferred thither straight from the railway, and is kept 
under the best conditions, very careful attention being paid to 
matters of ventilation, temperature, and cleanliness. All this 
goes to show how thoroughly and scientifically the trade has 
