File:The Cuba review (1907-1931) (20811808791).jpg

Title: The Cuba review
Identifier: cubareview17muns (find matches)
Year: 1907-1931 (1900s)
Authors: Munson Steamship Line
Subjects: Cuba -- Periodicals
Publisher: New York : Munson Steamship Line
Contributing Library: New York Botanical Garden, LuEsther T. Mertz Library
Digitizing Sponsor: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden

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14 THE CUBA REVIEW
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Patio of Cuban House, Showing Banana Tree in Foreground purpose are selected. The only one planted for export is the Jamaica or Bluefield, called Johnson in Cuba and Porto Rico. For the home market the Lady Finger and other varieties are liked by some and in many places the large cooking banana pays best. The plantain is liked everywhere, and while it is not so prolific the fruit always brings better prices in the home market, but it requires a very much richer soil than other varieties of bananas. The soil may be sandy or clayey, but the best banana soils are those containing an abundance of vegetable matter. The plant is sensitive to drought and wind; that is, periodical droughts will seriously diminish the crop as will also high winds that cut the leaves into ribbons. Banana plants thrive well in hot, moist and still atmos- phere, and while a frost may not kill the plant, cold winds, even such as occur on the north coast of Cuba, will prevent it from fruiting and maturing fruit in the winter months when it is most profitable to the market. For cultivation the usual orchard method is satisfactory. There are two essential requirements that must be complied with—the trees must have an abundance of plant food and the plants must not suffer from the want of moisture. These are not difficult problems in favorable localities with virgin soil, as it is rich and contains humus which helps to retain moisture, and if not drained surface, ditches will usually remedy this defect. But most soils must be enriched by growing leguminous crops and by fertilization. There should be one small application of commercial fertilizer after the plants are set, one larger one four months later, and another just before blooming, applied at the rate of two pounds per plant in throe applications. The mixture of fertilizer used is according to the soil, cultivation and local conditions. The elements are potash, nitro- gen and phosphoric acid.

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