Phenomenal crops of sugar
cane are produced on a "banana-sick" land.
A traveller relating his tropical experiences glorifies the banana,
stating that he has eaten it "ripe and luscious from the tree!" In
North Queensland bananas ripening on the plant frequently split, and
seldom attain perfect flavour. The ripening process takes place after the
fully developed bunch is removed and hung up in a cool, shady, well-aired
locality. Then the fruit acquires its true lusciousness and aroma. Other
climes, other results, perhaps; but a banana, "ripe and luscious from the
tree," is not generally expected in North Queensland. The fruit may
mature until it falls to the ground, yellow and soft, yet lack that
delicate finish, that benign essential, the craft of man bestows. It
would seem that the plant has been cultivated for so long a period that
it has become dependent upon man not only for its existence but for the
excellence of its crowning effort. An abandoned banana grove soon
disappears, for although seeds are undoubtedly produced, the occasions
are so rare that the reproduction of the cultivated varieties depends
solely upon the rhizome, and these very speedily deteriorate if
neglected.
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