688 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March 1, 190L 
the Northern districts of the colony there shonhl 
be plenty of spots where the cultivation of the 
banana mip;ht be undertakan on a large scale. 
It has been found by experiment that the banana 
will live, if in proper soil, without injury to the 
roots, at a temperature as low as sixteen degrees 
Eahr, the stalk will stand a temperature of twenty- 
five degrees without injury, and the leaves are not 
wilted until the air is chilled to thirty degrees. 
Although the banana is stated to live at this temper- 
ature, it would not be advisable to plant out on a 
large scale unless the temperature is considerably 
warmer than that stated. The site for a plantation 
should be in a sheltered position, and as near as 
possible to a railway line or convenient water 
carriage so that the fruit can be carted cheaply to 
marke't, with as little handling as possible. When 
the site is decided upon the land must be cleared and 
should then be broken up and subsoiled as deep as 
it is possible to do it. Strong teams of bullocks are 
best to use for this purpose, one plough following 
the other and breaking up the soil in the same 
furrow without bringing it to the surface. The land 
then requires harrowing and rolling until in good 
order. If the land is low, and likely to be covered 
with water during the rainy season, it will require 
draining, and if too low for underground draining, 
open drains should be cut out with the plough at 
a distance of about one chain apart : the banana 
likes a rich, moist soil, but will not stand stagnant 
water. 
The land should now be marked out into drills 
15 ft., apart each way, and the young plants put 
in at each intersection of the drills, this will take 
193 plants per acre. By planting on the equare 
system we are able to keep the cultivation going 
between the rows until the plants are fully grown. 
The banana is propagated by suckers taken from the 
old plants that have fruited. Holes should be made 
in the ground deep enough to allow the roots to 
be placed in as deep as they were when taken from 
the parent plant. The suckers should not be re- 
moved from the parent plant until everything is 
readv for planting them out in their new hone. 
The "roots require planting as carefully, and in the 
same manner, as you would plant out a fruit tree, 
and the soil should be well packed round the roots. 
If the land between the rows is kept free from 
weeds, the plants will require no further attention 
except tn replace any that may not have taken 
root The shoots or suckers should be taken from 
the parent stem when from 2 to 3 feet high, their 
bulbs being divided from the principal bulb by 
means of a mattock. These slips are cut about 8 
inches above the next, and placed in a slanting 
direction in the prepared holes, and covered with 
earth leaving in sight only about two inches. 
The length of time which elapses between the 
planting of the slips and their fruiting depends on 
climate^ situation, and variety of species. 
During the first year a crop of maize, sorghum 
or other desirable crop may be grov/n between the 
rows, and will help to pay the expenses of keeping 
the land free from weeds ; after the first year when 
the bananas begin to bear fruit, they will require 
the entire use of the land. The suckers will bear 
fruit from twelve to eighteen months from time of 
planting out. 
After the bunches of fruit have been harvested, 
the stems should be cut down to the ground, and 
two or three of the strongst suckers left for 
successive cropping, all the weaker ones should he 
cut out or carefully taken up if wanted for new 
plantations. If properly cultivated and looked 
after a plantation will keep in good bearing for 
about seven years, but after that the yield ia noti 
satinfactory, and it is better to put the land under 
another crop. It is not advisable to plant bananas 
on the same land for some time to come, as it is 
likely to encourage disease, but a system of rota- 
tion of crops is always desirable. 
The banana being a quick, rank growing plant, 
is naturally a gioss feeder, and requires to be well 
supplied with manure, it requires principally nit- 
rogen and potash. The best manure to use is well 
rotted stable manura, dead leaves, etc., that will 
supply plenty of humus to the soil, it should he 
applied as a irulch during the summer months to 
keep the soil moist, and then worked well into the 
ground with a hoe during the autumn. If artificial 
manure has to be used, a mixture of bonedust, 
kainit and sulphate of ammonia would give the 
best results, it should be mixed in the proportion 
of 200 lb. bonedust, 200 lb, kainit, and 100 sulphate 
of ammonia, and spread round the roots at the 
rate of about 3 1b. per plant ; this would take about 
5 cwt. per acre. It should be applied early in the 
spring. 
The amount o£ fruit obtained from a plantation 
of bananas is enormous, 70 lb. of fruit often being 
obtained from a single plant twelve months after 
planting. A statement made by Humboldt, once 
thought exaggerated, that an acre of good land in 
the tropics covered with plantain would j'leld as 
much nutritious food as lH acres of wheat, is now 
no longer denied or doubted. 
A Sacramento grower, in recording his experiences 
as to how to grow bananas in the garden, says : — 
" My method has been to supply the richest food 
for this gigantic plant, and force it to its extreme 
growth. Everyone has old chip dirt, ashes, boots, 
shoes, clothes and manure which are often a nui- 
sance. Dig a big hole, bury this up, in the centre 
of the mass place a pailful of sand and plant the 
fresh bulb. This is to preserve the dormant plant 
from the wire-worms and insects which will not 
attack the growing plant. As the plant grows, give 
it an abundance of water, and all the slops of the 
house. Any kind of manure, fresh or old, ashes, 
leaves and vegetables will soon disappear, and be 
absorbed by this gigantic king of plants. As the 
rainy season approaches, pile all the leaves and 
twigs of trees around the plants. It protects the 
bulbs and makes the soil rich for next season." 
In addition to its use as a fresh fruit, the banana 
is of considerable value as an article of food when 
dried. In a dry climate, where there is plenty of 
sun, the fruits may be dried in the following 
manner: — They are exposed to th sun in bundles, 
and when they begin to wrinkle they are peeled, 
for the skin, if left on, causes a disagreeable flavor. 
They are kept for some time until an efflorescence 
of sugar appears on their surface, as on dried figa 
and prunes. They are then pi-essed in masses of 
about 25 lb. each and wrapped in leaves or else 
packed in boxes. These methods can only be adopted 
In countries where the climate is very dry. In 
others, recourse must be had to artificial means 
which are, unfortunately, more costly. There are 
three distinct ways in which the ripe banana may 
be dried — 1st, exposing the fruit to an atmosphere 
of sulphric acid gas before the desiccation is begun ; 
2nd, boiling rapidly very ripe fruit in water which 
contains sulphate of lime ; 3rd, by boiling it ia 
syrup. By either of these, the albumen and caseine 
of the fruit coagulates, and the tendency of the 
banana to decay and ferment is stopped at a period 
favorable for desiccation. Experience shows that the 
second method is the best to employ in moist 
climates, without this precaution the fruit instead 
of drying becomes damp. To expose the fruit to the 
sun's rays after boiling, trays of bamboo or of any 
material which permits the free action of the air 
and light may be used. If rain falls they are dried 
n a furnace or an evaporator. The bananas when 
dry are pressed; and packed in boxes. Banana 
drying has been successfully carried out in Queens- 
land. A meal is also made by slicing the banana. 
