March 1, 1899.] THE TEOPICaL 
AGRICULTUEIST. 
605 
The merits and demerits of this mode of prepara- 
tion must rest entii-elj witli me, but 1 cannot 
be responsible for any statements made in Trinidad, 
where a copy of my expermental machine was 
recently exhibited ivithoub my consent or 
knowledge. — Journal of the Bociety of Arts. 
PLANTAIN OR BANANA MEAL 
OR FLOUR. 
In contiQuation of my report No. 333 of Julij 
27, \898. I have the honour to state that I have 
been in commnnication with the Superintendent of 
the Botanical Department, Trinidad, and the Director 
of Public Gardens and Plmtations, Jamaica, on the 
subject of Plantain Flour Meal. The reports received 
by me from Trinidad and Jamaica (copies of which 
I annex) are undoubtedly discouraging. 
I have been delaying this report in the hope of 
being able to add some further information on the 
subject which I have been expecting from those to 
whom I have forwarded samples of plantain Hour, 
but up till now I have not received reports on the 
samples sent. 
In the meantime it is reassuring to find that 
Dr. Tibbies, who is referred to in Mr, Hart's letter, 
is now artvertisiig "Malted Banana Food." This 
new departure should improve the prospects of a 
trade in plantain flour. It would appear that desic- 
cated ripe fruit is difficult to handle as a trade 
article, owing to its liability to fermentation. 
I might here refer to the experiment lately carried 
out in North-West India by the Director of the 
Saharuopore Botanic Gardens in drying plantains — 
among other fruits — by means of Dr. Ryder's 
American Fruit and Vegetable Evaporator. The 
following are the particulars regarding plantains 
in this experiment : — 
Unripe. Ripe, 
Number of fruit used 376 iol 
Weight of fresh fruit 83 lb. 88 lb. 
Cost of fruit per 100 Rl-6 5-12 a. El-6 5-12 a. 
Wood used for drying 2 maunds 3 maunds 
Value of wood at R3 per m. 10| annas Rl 
Time occupied in drying 24 hours 74 hours 
Weight of dried produce 10 lb. 2 oz. 16 lb. 
Oo8t of dry produce per lb. 9| annas 4| annas 
Adding to these further items of cost given, viz. : — 
Preparation of fruit for evaporation 
and attendance during drying J anna per lb. 
Interest on evaporator and premises J ,, 
General supervision ... 1 ,, 
2 annas 
we get the cost of producing 1 lb. of dried nnripe 
plantains as Hi annas, and of dried ripe plantains 
6J annas. 
It will thus be seen from the above statement 
that it takes 8'7 lb. of fresh fruit to produce 1 lb. 
of dried unripe fruit at a cost of llj annas, or 69 
cents, and 54 lb. fresh fruit to produce 1 lb. of dried 
ripe fruit at 6i annas, or 39 cents. 
It is interestir'g to compare with these figures 
the details of cost, etc., supplied by the Chief Clerk 
of the Anuradhapura Kachcheri, who makes out that 
about 6 lb. of peeled unripe fruit yield 1 lb. of flour 
and IJ lb. dried chips, while the approximate cost 
of producing a pound of flour is given as follows :— 
6 1b. peeled fruit at 2 cents per lb. ... 12 cents 
Cost of labour for drying and pounding, etc, 4 ,, 
16 cents 
The frnit here naed is, as stated, nnripe (but not 
far from becoming mature) and the cost — 16 cents 
per lb. inclndiug pounding — by this sun-drying pro- 
cess compares very favourably with the cost of dried 
unripe fruits desiccated by the American eyaporator, 
Tiz., 69 cents per lb. 
It must be borne in mind, however, that the 
price of plantains in places like Anuradhapura is 
infinitely less than in Saharunpore, where thev are 
quoted at Re. 1-6 5 12 annas per 100, equivalent to 
Re. 1-38 of our money. 
The Indian report makes out that about 4 fresh 
unripe fruits go to make up a pound, which, at the 
rate of Re. I SS per iCO would be 5^ cents ; while, 
according to the figures given by the Chief Clerk 
of the Anuradhapura Kachcheri, a pound of jjeeled 
fruit coats only 2 cents. So that there is an im- 
portant difference in the cost of fresh fruit at Anu- 
radhapura and Saharunpore. Rut even calculating 
the cost of fresh fruit at 2 cents in the Indian 
Experiment, the cost of producing one pound of dried 
unripe plantains with the American evaporator would 
not be much less than 25 cents, as against 16 cent 
given as the cost of 1 lb. of flour— using the heat 
of the sun for desiccation. Still, it would not be fair 
to come to any decision by calculating on paper 
and if the American evaporator could be tested for 
plantains in Anuraphapura under conditions very 
diffirent from those at Saharunpore— with possibly 
cheaper fuel and labour— it will probably be foand 
as the Chief Clerk is led to expect, that the use 
of machinery will tend to reduce the cost of pro- 
duction. But, of course, in that case the manufacture 
of plaintain flour must be on a large enough scale 
to fully test the capacity of desiccating and grinding 
apparatus, the initial cost of which is so large 
Details of initial of working cost of a frnit dryer 
(I saw one of these— an American patent— on trial 
on an up-country estate some years ago) could ba 
obtained locally. 
Mr. Waters of Hawkesbury Agricultural College 
recommends a simple and cheap arrangement for 
drymg fruit when sun heat is not available The 
following diagram and description will explain the 
construction : — 
The framework cinsists of hard wood, and the 
whole covering of either tongned or grooved seasone,! 
boards or galvanized iron, though the hoards aro 
better as they do not tend to coil up so quicklv 
The circle marked A represents the improviseH 
furnace made out of two oil-drums, by taking th« 
rim off one and forcing it (the drum) about an 
inch into the other, one of the tops or lids befn^ 
converted into a door. A hole should be made n 
the end and a small flue attached and carripS 
abo^e the machine as shown at B. The bottom nf 
the dryer C can be made of iron, and shonM 
bo perforated to allow the heat to rise froui th« 
air chamber D. Cleats should be nailed on earh 
side as shown in the figure, to slide the trav7in 
and out on. The size of the trays should be S ft 
by 2 ft., and twenty four of these could be put 
into the dijer at one time. The size of the dryer 
should be 3 ft. by 4ft by 4 ft. (inside measure- 
ments), and tv^o doors (or, better still, one) provided 
po?siblJ°"" airtight as 
^,'i''uS'®u'-,?^I.''°'^S® °f si'npJe dryer, which 
could be built by any handy man, is its 'cheap- 
ness : and it can always be used for drying fruits 
when they become too ripe for eating raw Mr 
Waters admits his preference for sun dried fruit 
but of course, in wet seasons a cheap dryer su--i^ 
as I have described would be invaluable, and it 
IS as well that it should be given a trial before 
investing in more expensive apparatus. 
[As regards the two names " bananas " ard " nlan 
tains It IS advisable that the arbitrary distinction 
should be rejected, and, as Dr. Watt recomm9na°8. 
the commoner name plantain only used.] 
An ncxures. 
Me. Hakt to .'Mr. Drieberq. 
Botanical Department, Trinidad, 
Mv D..K Sm So.far as 1 hlvTfee;!' S i. 
Jittle hope for a traue in banana meal-dried bamiuaH 
.Vc.-uuless a man of Lipton'a or fiooley's stamp 
ansea to form the articles and create a deoidDrf^ 
