came between the French and the port, and covered the entry of the storeships and transports. Then the French, who had come to besiege Tarragona on the land side, saw that the game was up, and marched off. they found that they were galleys manœuvre. Maqueda played the game with more dexterity than was usual with Spanish commanders at sea. He kept his capital ships concentrated, and kept to windward. Sourdis was compelled to remain concentrated also and to follow him. While the two were manœuvring offshore, Maquedas' The French authorities, who had insisted on making the premature advance on Tarragona, were, as was to be expected, disappointed, and were, as was natural, quite incapable of seeing that they were in the least to blame. They put the failure down to the weakness, cowardice, and so forth of Sourdis. He had brought his fleet north for supplies. The galleys were at the end of theirs, and the sailing ships not much better off. All the captains of his fleet signed a statement justifying the retreat. Sourdis had to be content with the approval of the best judges. Richelieu, now at the very end of his life, turned against him malignantly. The Archbishop-Admiral had no further service at sea, though his active career was not quite at an end. But when he next (and for the last time in his life) came publicly forward, it was to preside over the assembly of the clergy of France. BANANAS. BY RAWDON HOARE. THE banana may seem to the average person a particularly domesticated kind of fruit -a fruit that he would imagine grown in an atmosphere of peaceful tropical somnolence. Yet how many people have stopped to consider from where the mass production of this increasingly popular product, now being consumed in such large quantities throughout the world, is mainly produced? Central America, the land of the ancient Mayas, can scarcely be said to exude an atmosphere of peace; and Honduras, one of its smaller Republics, less so than probably any other. Yet this turbulent little Republic, amid its political chaos and revolution, is alone responsible for an average weekly shipment of at least 85,000 bunches to England and Europe and nearly 300,000 to the United States. The coastal areas of Honduras have been practically entirely given up to banana cultivation, and are almost completely monopolised by the large American companies who control the banana export to the world throughout the Spanish Main. These companies, commonly known as divisions, with their thousands of acres of land, numerous employees, and enormous wealth, prove an im portant factor in the political life of the country, and it may truthfully be said that bananas and politics move hand in hand. Tracts of land amounting to 30,000 and 40,000 acres have been divided up into banana plantations, while towns specially built along the coast serve as headquarters for banana companies. Divisions are usually self-contained, operating their own railroads, ships, construction work, and merchandise business, all to attain one objective-the export of the banana. As in the hunting field the talk will turn to horses, so in these towns it will be of bananas, and then more bananas, until one's very ears resound from the vagaries and peculiarities of this excellent fruit. A traveller on the Honduranian coast will find himself among mixed nationalities in an atmosphere of continual high political tension. The Honduranian, descended originally from the ancient Mayas and Indians, but now, particularly in the banana areas, so intermingled with Spanish and sometimes negro blood, can be seen with the proverbial revolver dangling by his side. The negro, with the large whites of his eyes and flashing teeth, smiles a welcome to all newcomers, providing he can scent a small remuneration. The Armenians, Syrians, and Chinamen, bartering their merchandise wares in squalid little shops, seem for ever in trepidation of their lives from the hot-tempered, drink - loving Honduranians. And lastly, dominating all he surveys-the American, with his horn-rimmed glasses and large cigar, looking down upon the Honduranian populace as an evil necessity for a background to his financial activities, and the earning of the almighty dollar. A mixed crowd, indeed, this strange intermingling of the East and West, almost worthy of some oriental seaport. Life on the banana plantations is at most periods a monotonous existence, the same routine being carried out day after day; but there are times, particularly round the monthly pay day, when it is apt to become a little too exciting, and when employees might well wish themselves back in their happy homes ! Social life, with the exception of the coastal towns, is practically non-existent. Outlying headquarters are usually situated in or near some small village, and the employees have to satisfy themselves with visiting the numerous canteens or billiard saloons that border the dirty dust-laden streets. Golf and baseball can be played on the coast, while an occasional tennis court is to be found in the outlying regions. Houses for the white employees are built on bungalow plans amid gay little gardens with clusters of crimson and purple bougainvilleas hanging round their doors. They have good indoor sanitation, and are screened throughout with mosquito netting. Medical arrangements are excellent. Well-fitted hospitals, staffed with first-class American doctors and nurses, are operated in all the coastal towns. controlled by banana companies. Companies or divisions are usually divided into districts of anything from 6000 to 15,000 acres, under the supervision of a superintendent, which are in turn split up into farms of 1000 to 1200 acres, each controlled by an overseer with one or more assistants. The labourers on the average farm number about eighty, and are mostly composed of Honduranians, Nicaraguans, and Salvadoranians, with a smattering of Jamaican negroes. A railroad, which is the property of the company, pierces the centre of each estate, and forms the starting-point and centre of activity for every farm. As Honduras is almost entirely devoid of roads, the country is dependent on the railroads financed by banana companies. Work on the farms is carried out almost solely by contract, a rate of $2 to $3 per acre being paid for cleaning the land, and .04c. to .06c. stem for cutting and hauling bananas to the railroad. Mules and equipment are supplied by the company. a Frequent difficulties arise be tween the overseer and contractor over the class of work carried out, and it is not unusual for an overseer to have his life threatened, or even attempted, on refusing to pay for some indifferent work. But the labourers, as a whole, are not difficult to handle, providing the white man shows tact and discretion, leaving them strictly alone when they are under the influence of drink. This is the rock upon which many young employees founder. They cannot understand the importance of gaining respect by setting a decent example in their every-day lives, and of not entirely depending on the status which naturally belongs to an Englishman among a partially coloured race. There has never been a truer saying than "Familiarity breeds contempt." The banana is one of the easiest products to grow on the market, and provided it is planted in properly drained silty loam soil, with not more than 35 per cent clay, excellent fruit will be cut within a year of planting. I will take the opportunity here of explaining that a marketable bunch or stem of bananas consists of anything from 72 to 250 fingers, which are purchased either singly or by the dozen in an English shop. Strong winds that sweep the country at uncertain periods are of the greatest danger to the banana grower. I have known in 1926 a strong gust of wind, lasting only five minutes, destroy 3,000,000 bunches of bananas belonging to one company alone, but within a year these same mats were again producing fruit. It is extremely difficult to kill the actual plant or mat. Disease or standing water is probably the only efficacious method. The mat almost resembles a weed, and it has often been said that a root thrown down on really good soil will produce fruit; and I am inclined to agree with this statement. Fires during the months of May, June, and July are another continuous cause of anxiety. A cigarette end dropped on a pile of dry leaves, and then fanned by the strong prevailing trade-wind, may cause within a few hours the destruction of five or six hundreds of acres, and unless immediate steps are taken to counter fire, hundreds more may be in jeopardy. Swollen rivers during the wet season are an annual occurrence, which result in levees being built along their banks to avoid the flooding of plantations and railroads. Exciting incidents occur when levees break, and whole districts are entirely cut off from outside communication, but the depth and force of the water is rarely sufficient to cause loss of life. Panama disease, named after the Republic, where it first broke out some years ago, has caused the most serious financial losses to the banana grower. Some of the best-known agricultural experts from the United States have been summoned to Central America for the pur pose of closely investigating bush cut to the ground); lined the entire subject. Although a great deal more is now known of this fungus pestilence than was the case a few years ago, the sweeping contagion that has been said to kill areas of 15,000 and 18,000 acres within four or five years is in no way curtailed, and still stands as the foremost difficulty in banana cultivation. Certain types of bananas have been found to be immune, but these varieties are not usually marketable, and a fortune still awaits the man who can find a certain cure. Cultivation, as carried out in England, is little known among Honduranian bananas, and it is only within the last two years that experiments with ploughs and harrows have been commenced. The banana mat has always been found to give first-class results, providing the bush is cut with machettes at periods varying from one to three months. As a mat usually consists of from four to thirty suckers, according to age, it is necessary to prune down to an average of four to eight as may be deemed advisable by the type of soil, light and air being essential if good healthy fruit is required. The preparation of the jungle for new planting is usually commenced during the winter months. The tract of land is divided up into sections or fields of about 22 acres each. Each section is then underbrushed (i.e., all low-growing (i.e., stakes about 3 ft. long being placed at regular intervals ranging from 12 to 22 ft. to denote the exact spot where the root must be planted); planted with banana roots about 2 ft. deep, and then felled. After the felling is completed the areas are burnt, so as to make it easier and less expensive for the construction of roads. Drain work may be carried out both before and after planting. Fruit can be cut from these new clearings twelve months after the planting is completed. On average soil a yield of 150 stems to the acre may be expected during the first year, while ultimately 200 to 250 can be reaped. A fruit-cutting is the redletter day for an overseer and his contractors. The number of stems to be cut, which vary according to the size of the boat to be loaded in port, are ordered by the superintendent of the district. At daybreak contractors leave the camps to cover the number of acres allotted to them. Every contractor is supported by a backer, and at least one muleman with three mules. The stem of the fruit is cut with a small knife at the end of a long pole, and carried on the shoulders of the backer to the nearest mule path, and then hauled on mule-back to the railroad. Each mule can carry four stems, which are protected by heavy dry leaf pads made from banana leaves. The railroad is reached, and |