2 . 
making Dominica the last port of call on the line 
from the West Indies to New York, there is no reason 
why the planters of the. island should not participate 
in the profits of the banana trade. It must be re¬ 
membered that, with the exception, perhaps, of little 
Montserrat, the islands to the North are not capable 
of growing the fruit to perfection in any quantity: 
and, thus, by its geographical position, as well as 
by its richness of soil and abundant rainfall, Domi¬ 
nica is better fitted fof the development of a large 
fruit trade than are her sister colonies. 
The opening of direct steam communication 
with the Dominion of Canada, now an accomplished 
fact, provides another important market for Domi¬ 
nica fruit, and our planters would do well to be the 
first in this new field. Most of the bananas hitherto 
sold in Canada have gone through New York, where¬ 
by their cost has been greatly increased by the 
profits of the “ middle-men.” Canadian fruiterers, 
therefore, will gladly welcome direct shipments ; and, 
Dominica being the nearest fruit island to the 
Dominion, there are exceptional facilities for the es¬ 
tablishment of a profitable trade. 
There must be no unnecessary delay, however, 
for the present opportunities, if not taken advantage 
of, will be lost. Subsidies to steamship lines cannot 
be made permanent if they do not lead to commerce, 
and so, if no trade be developed within a reasonable 
time, there will be an end to the present unusual 
facilities for forwarding our fruit to the great markets 
of the North. It is to be hoped, therefore, that 
those planters with ^suitable land, who have not 
already “ gone in” for bananas, will speedily do so, 
and to those unacquainted with the. proper methods 
of cultivation the following notes will give all the 
necessary information :— 
The right variety of the Banana to plant .— 
Owing to'the peculiar names given to the varieties 
