Yes, Bananas

[Music] so [Music] [Music] heading southward to the tropical crossroads of the caribbean we arrived in the land of bananas a gift of the tropical americas to the world yes bananas millions of them are cultivated in central america upper south america and the west indies a suitable site in this jungle area is selected and the dense tropical forest is cut away to clear the land for the new banana plantation experts on tropical soils test and record the fertility of this area meanwhile the survey department at plantation headquarters charts the portions to be planted with this razor-sharp blade the machete the native workers attacked the tropical undergrowth to clear the way for planting for banana plants cannot flourish if choked by the surrounding jungle [Music] lining and staking operations call for skilled laborers the distances between plantings are measured off accurately in each direction by a pole 14 feet long [Music] the digging of drainage ditches is necessary in this humid country where the annual rainfall is from 80 to 200 inches bananas thrive in water-enriched soil but too much moisture may ruin them the ever faithful mule showed us a burden of root stocks for planting as the seeds of the banana are rarely developed planting is done with these root stocks of another healthy plant [Music] these eyes similar to the eyes of a potato develop into shoot two months after planting the strongest shoot will develop into a large banana plant the others are cut away [Music] before the young plants lift their leafy shoots to the azure sky the forest trees ourselves this may be one man's work if the trees are small but these large tropical giants have resisted the axes of six men for many days [Music] constant cleaning up of the jungle growth around the new three-month-old plant is necessary to ensure proper growth after six months the plan towers high above the native worker because of improper cleaning up operations of these two six-month-old plants the one on the right is smaller [Music] we are cutting away a section of a nine months old plant and here we see the stem which actually bears the fruit going up through the center by removing the outer layers of overlapping leaves we expose the plants one bunch of fruit in embryo form for only one stem of bananas grows on each plant [Music] the banana plant because of its size is often called a tree this is not true as the plant contains no wood its makeup consists simply of tightly wrapped overlapping knees [Music] in 12 to 15 months the plant has developed mature fruit ready for cutting during this time the stem or bunch has increased in weight to nearly 65 pounds has bent over and the bananas now point upward and outward relying on modern radio stations plantation managers are able at all times to coordinate cutting orders with the arrival of the fruit ships with the latest radio order just received cutting crews each consisting of a cutter backer and mule man enter a plantation's interior experience cutters can tell by the size and color of bananas when they are ready for cutting [Music] using a special knife with a long handle the cutter carefully nicks the trunk of the plant [Music] the weight of the bunch of bananas pulls the upper part of the plant down to the backer who receives the fruit on his shoulder [Music] after the bunch has been severed from the plan and its blossom end cut off it is stacked waiting to be carried by mule back to a loading station of the tramway [Music] even for use in the tropics bananas are always cut green and ripened off the plant a plant-ripened banana is unpleasantly mealy and has little flavor [Music] emerging from the plantation area with a load of freshly cut fruit the mule man leads his sturdy mule to the tram car loading platform where the green bananas are unloaded at the nearby siding [Music] it is easy to see here why railroads are so important to banana plantations first by tiny gauge trams and then by medium gauge fruit train the bananas must be carried from the plantations to the dots [Music] loading of a fruit train is done with considerable care the interior of a car is padded with soft banana leaves for protection and careful inspection must take place before the bunch has entered the cars where the overripe fruit is rejected [Music] as fast as the fruit is harvested train loads containing thousands of bunches are hauled to the various loading ports where air-conditioned ships call almost every day in the air the arrival of a banana boat in the caribbean always causes considerable excitement the dwarves bustle with activity as 50 000 bunches must be dispatched in about 12 hours after careful inspection and counting of the bunches the ship is loaded both by means of this fantastic loading machine of soft canvas pockets and also by continuous belts [Music] and before the fruit reaches the depths of the ship it is given a final inspection with her cargo safely on board the specially designed refrigerated steamship weighs anchor constant care is given the fruit on route and day and night the temperature in the storage compartments is checked and recorded so that the fruit may not ripen too quickly the cargo of green food arrives at one of the many banana ports in the united states the unloading machinery is lowered into the ship and canvas shields are used to protect the fruit from cold winds or hot sun during the unloading operation taken from the pockets of the unloader are thousands of stems representing millions of individual bananas several hundred men in one day can unload and classify a shipload of fruit according to quality condition and the number of hands or clusters on each stand there are enough bananas in this ship to fill 100 freight cars [Music] to maintain the proper temperature in these insulated cars they are heated in winter and ice cooled in summer to prevent improper ripening in transit special inspectors bore the trains periodically to check the fruits conditions from the railroad cars the bananas are transferred to ripening rooms where they are ripened to a golden yellow color before being sold to millions of consumers serving as banana scallops fruit plate tea bread baked bananas cream pie coconut rolls and as mashed ripe bananas now recommended by leading physicians as one of the first solid foods for babies once regarded as a luxury today bananas find a place on everyone's table yes bananas a gift from tropical america to the world [Music] you