17. The Banana

When Father Tomas de Berlanga set out upon his dangerous voyage to the New World, early in the 16th century, he carried with him not only his Books of the Gospel, but also some roots of the rare and highly valued banana plant. With this sweet golden fruit he hoped to win the friendship, and thus to make converts, of even the most savage of Indians. He could not have guessed then that his few roots would spread through American tropical forest lands until bananas, growing wild, would be as common as the great swamp ferns. And he could not have imagined that a day would come when white men would clear away thousands of acres of those forests to make room for banana plantations.

It is thought by scientists and historians that the banana first grew in southern Asia, and that through many centuries it spread to the east and west until now it is found growing in nearly all tropical regions. It does not grow on a tree, as is commonly supposed, but on a plant, perhaps the largest plant in existence without a woody stem. Only one bunch of bananas grows on each plant, but this bunch often weighs 100 pounds or more.

People who like bananas probably imagine that a banana plantation would be a very delightful place in which to live; and so it is—for people who know and understand the tropics. But the banana planter must meet and overcome difficulties of which farmers in temperate regions have no idea. He must frequently go right into the forests and cut down trees to cover his plants. He needs a hot; humid climate, and because diseases as well as bananas flourish in such climates, he must get rid of mosquitoes and other insects that carry germs. He may have to dig irrigation ditches, build bridges, and lay rails to connect his plantation with a port, so that he can ship his fruit. And then, when all is complete and his plants are growing, he must sometimes stand helplessly by while a tropical storm destroys his crop.

Bananas are always cut while green, even when they are not to be shipped, for if allowed to ripen on the plant they burst and spoil before they can be picked. For shipment, the bunches are loaded on tramcars or on donkeys or other pack animals and carried to the railways. On reaching the port, they are packed into the holds of ships specially built for the carrying of bananas, and so ventilated that currents of cool air keep the fruit from ripening on the voyage.

The largest banana-growing country is Brazil. It produces as much as 5 million tons a year. Other leading producers are Ecuador, India, Venezuela, Honduras, Pakistan, Colombia, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Thailand. The United Stales imports more bananas than any other country in the world—about 1 800 000 tons a year. Some bananas are grown in the warmer regions of the United States. Ecuador is the world's largest exporter.

The remarkable food value of bananas has only been recognized within the last few years. When they are completely ripe or cooked, few foods are more digestible, and it has been discovered that they are also of great value in treating certain diseases. Some near relatives of the banana, whose fruits cannot be eaten, are cultivated for their useful fiber. Other members of the family are grown for their beauty and shade.