THE BANANNA TREE. 
15 
Article VIII.—ACCOUNT OF SOME REMARKABLE FINE SPECIMENS 
OF THE BANANNA TREE, (MUSA SAPIENTA). 
At Alton Towers , the seat of the Right Honourable the Earl of Shrewsbury. 
COMMUNICATED BY MR. THOMAS UPTON. 
The parent plant, from the information I have been able to obtain, 
was planted January 7th 1831, in an open border, with a variety of 
other plants in the exotic conservatory, in a rich compost of one half 
rich loam, one forth sandy peat, and one forth decayed hotbed dung; 
previous to its removal there it had been grown in a pot, the stem 
then measured in circumference 1 foot 3 inches, and some of the 
leaves 6 feet long. It made an amazing rapid progress the following 
October, when it arrived at its full growth, having been planted only 
tho short space of 9 months, its stem had increased in circumference 
at the basis 2 feet 4 inches, then measuring 3 feet 7 inches, and 16 
feet high, it produced leaves which measured 12 feet 2 inches in length 
and 3 feet 8 inches in breadth. In the month of June, after it was 
planted the house was found to he too low to contain it, the leaves 
had already broken through the glass, at an height of nearly 22 feet, 
it therefore became necessary to shorten the leaves to keep them with¬ 
in bounds, this gave the plant an unsightly appearance as well as 
materially injuring it. In the month of April and May of the same year 
several suckers were produced; the first was allowed to grow, and the 
others were taken off. In October 1832, the first being one year and 
seven months old, out-measured the mother plant in the circumference 
of the stem by half an inch, and in its height by 1 foot 2 inches, being 
17 feet 2 inches high; it also produced as fine leaves which like the 
former, we were obliged to shorten. In March 1832, the old plant pro¬ 
duced another sucker which is now only 8 months old, and measures 
round the stem 2 feet nine inches, and is a 11 feet 11 inches high. 
In April 1832 the first sucker the plant produced, threw up a sucker 
also, this is now 1 foot 11 inches round the stem, and 8 feet six in¬ 
ches high, being hut 7 months old. In the beginning of May the old 
plant produced a third sucker, which now measures 1 foot 9 inches 
round the stem, and 7 feet 6 inches high, being but 6 months old. 
In the beginning of April 1831 there was an appearance of the old 
plant fruiting, by its producing one very small leaf and in the course 
of six or ten days the fruit stem was visible, and by the middle of 
May showed 112 fruit. In the October following some few of the fruit 
was observed to ripen fast some of them them weighed 9 i and others 
10 ounces each, and measured 9 inches long and 7 inches round, so 
that the whole produce of the fruit alone weighed upwards of 65 lbs. 
the stem the fruit was attached to, weighed 15 pounds, so the whole 
produce including the fruit stem would have weighed 80 pounds. 
