Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/283

 BANANA 263 proclamation, and thereby political rights and capacities were taken away, and in case of in- dividuals they were cut off from society and deprived of rank, title, privileges, and proper- ty. The ban and arriere ban of France was the entire feudal levy of the realm, raised by pub- lic proclamation (ban) of the king, denouncing penalties against all who should fail to appear. The ban comprised all the great vassals, hold- ing of the king for homage ; the arriere ban in- cluded all the vassals or tenants of the second class. The whole ban and arriere ban, there- fore, constituted the entire military force of the crown of France during the feudal ages, and prior to the establishment of standing ar- mies. It could only be called out by the king in person, and usually only when he was him- self in the field, although the leading of it often was given to the constable, or some other high officer of France. The calling out of the ban and arriere ban usually implied the invasion of the soil of France ; the revolt of some great feudatories; or, in some serious way, the su- preme peril of the crown and state. It was attended with solemn ceremonies, and on the assemblage of the powers by the displaying of the orijlamme, or sacred banner of the monar- chy, green, langued with tongues of gold, em- blematical of the fiery tongues of the Pente- cost, by the count d'Harcourt, who was the hereditary holder of that office. BANANA (musa), the most important of tropi- cal fruits, now common in the tropics of both hemispheres. When the cutting or shoot is planted (and it requires deep rich earth and - JJillKMl much moisture to grow in perfection), it soon sends up two leaves, tightly rolled together un- til the green roll has grown two or three feet, when the blades unfold. These leaves are fol- lowed by others, until the stems of the leaves have formed a smooth trunk some eight or ten inches thick, composed wholly of the concentric leaf stems or petioles. At the end of nine months a deep purple bud appears in the centre of the leaves ; its constantly lengthening stem soon pushes it beyond the leaves, and it hangs down like a huge heart. As the purple en- velopes of the bud fall off rows of buds are dis- closed, extending two thirds around the stem. Each miniature fruit has a waxen yellow blos- som with a large projecting stigma at the end. The female flowers come first on the stem, and nearer the end are the smaller male flowers ; both are full of good honey. Three or four months are required to ripen the fruit, and during the process the rows of male flowers have withered and dropped away, the ovaries of the female blossoms have swollen into ba- nanas 6 to 14 inches long, and the huge bunch, containing several hundred fruits, hangs from the now withering plant, which soon dries up if left to itself. From its base spring up off- shoots which may be transplanted, and if the stem is cut down as soon as the fruit is gather- ed, the round bulbous rootstock sends up new leaves, and a second plant matures much soon- er than do the offshoots. Although most ba- nana bunches hang down in maturity, a variety is found on the Society Islands whose very- large bunches of deep orange-colored fruit stand up erect, forming ornamental rather than useful objects ; for their taste even when cooked is acrid and disagreeable. The Brazil- ian banana is tall, rising to a height of 15 or even 20 feet, and the fruit is yellow and excellent, rather vinous in flavor. The Chinese banana seldom exceeds five feet in height, the leaves of a silver hue, and the fruit aromatic. The/ei or Tahitian banana is similar to the Brazilian, but not so tall, and the fruit is angular, yellow, turning black when fully ripe, and the flesh is salmon-colored or buff, and slightly acid. A variety with a red skin is brought from the West Indies, and a very small banana is found in Africa and the East Indies. The botanical distinction of species is probably not well founded, as at present two, M. sapientum and M. paraduiaca, are supposed to comprise all the edible varieties; and the popular names banana and plantain are often confounded, the latter being applied to the cooking varieties. Usually no seeds are found in the pulp, but at Akyab and along the coast of Arracan a kind is common full of seeds. These seeds are black, rough, as large as cotton seeds, and like these enveloped in a fibrous coat. The Spaniards, from the fancied resemblance of the trans- verse section to a cross, supposed the banana to have been the forbidden fruit, and that Adam saw in eating it the mystery of re- demption by the cross. Bananas are eaten raw, either alone or cut in slices and with sugar and cream or wine and orange juice. Cooked when green or ripe, they are fried alone or in butter, baked with the skins on, or made into puddings or pies. They may be cut into strips and dried, or pounded into a paste ; in the latter form they are the staple food of many