6 . 
application of this system continuous crops may 
be reckoned on. 
Crops . — With proper cultivation and a good soil 
the first ciop may be gathered in about a year from 
the time of planting out the suckers ; and, as some 
plants may be backward whilst others are forward in 
growth, bunches may be gathered at all times there¬ 
after. 
The bunches of fruit must be cut with about 
twelve or fifteen inches of the stem attached lor the 
convenience of handling, and the terminal flower bud 
should be removed at the same time. The. trunk 
must then be cut down to within a few' feet of the 
ground, and if it be chopped into short lengths, and 
arranged around the remaining trunks, it will rot 
and help to manure the soil. The bunches of fruit 
should be stored in a dry place and made to stand 
upright on the thick stalks; for, if they be laid on 
their sides, the fruit on the under surface will be 
crushed or bruised, and thus the whole bunch will 
either spoil or become greatly deteriorated in value 
before it reaches the market. 
The fruit should be cut about a week or ten 
days before it is ripe; and, from the time it leaves the 
stem until it is placed in the market , it must be 
handled with the greatest care and gentleness, other¬ 
wise its value will be much lessened. An immense 
quantity of fruit, worth a very large sum of money, is 
lost every year by careless and rough handling — a 
bruise that may not be apparent at the time, wall 
soon cause decay of the delicate structure of the 
fruit, and the decay once set up is liable to spread 
to other fruit in the vicinity. In fruit culture one of 
the first things to learn is care in the handling of the 
produce, and the planter will have to be constantly 
on the alert to see that his labourers exercise this 
necessary care. 
Bananas as shade for Cacao . — Banana plants are 
