16 
THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
from the time of planting, the stem which is to bear the fruit has 
pushed itself up from the rhizome through the center of the stalk, 
and the blossom has “shot” or appeared in the center of the crown 
of the leaf-sheath. From three to five months are then required to 
develop a hunch of bananas ready for cutting, this fruition period 
varying considerably with the soil and climate. 
The banana is a very prolific reproducer, and after the first crop it 
is necessary to cut down many of the young plants or suckers in order 
that they may not become overcrowded. Up to a certain limit the 
fewer suckers allowed to grow from a single rhizome the more hands 
or clusters of fruit will be produced by the remaining trees originating 
from that root. Usually only from two to five of the most promising 
shoots are allowed to grow up to supply fruit later. This process of 
cutting away some of the shoots is termed pruning and is a work that 
requires skill and judgment to produce the best results. Therefore, 
as the plantation comes into bearing, there are always new shoots 
coming to maturity to replace those which have already borne fruit 
and have been cut down, so that after a time the production becomes 
practically continuous over a period of several years. There are 
certain areas where, as a result of a single planting, the trees have 
continued in production for twenty years. 
As fruit of various stages of development is coming on at the 
same time a practiced eye is required to select the bunches of proper 
grade to be cut for shipment. Cutting of the fruit in a given section 
is done once, and frequently twice, a week. A cutting “gang” 
usually consists of three men: The “cutter,” the “backer,” and 
the “muleman.” The “cutter” uses a long pole with a special 
knife attached to the end. He nicks the trunk of the tree a few 
feet below the bunch, and the weight of the bunch causes the trunk 
to weaken and bend where it has been cut. The top of the tree 
with its bunch of fruit is steadied by the pole to avoid its coming 
down with a rush and crushing the fruit. It is eased down until 
within reach of the “backer,” who receives the bunch on his shoulders 
and the “cutter” severs the bunch from the tree with a machete and 
cuts off the blossom end. The “backer” immediately carries the 
bunch on his shoulder to the nearest pack road or tram line, and the 
“cutter” then cuts down the tree itself near the ground, where it 
quickly rots, the decayed stalk forming humus which acts as a good 
fertilizer for the soil. The fruit is then carried out on pack animals 
or loaded on tramcars for transportation to the railway. In some 
instances, where the railway is very near, the bunch is “backed” 
right out to the track. In others it is first “ backed” a short distance, 
then packed on a mule, and finally loaded on tramcars. The pack 
by animals as well as the haul by trams is of varying distance, de¬ 
pending on the location of the land with respect to the railway and 
