BANA′NA

(nā′- or -nah′-). [Nat.] The mu′sa sapien′tum (Linn.), a species of plantain; also its fruit. The Banana contains about 27 per cent. of solid matter, and has nearly the same nutritive value as rice. It is largely consumed in the tropics, where the common allowance for a labourer is 6 1 ⁄ 2 lbs. of the fresh fruit or 2 lbs. of the dry meal, with a quarter of a pound of salt meat or fish. It is sometimes fried in slices and often made into preserves. Composition of the Pulp of Ripe Bananas ( Corenwinder ). | Nitrogenous matter | 4·820 | | Sugar, pectose, organic acid, and traces of starch | 19·657 | | Fatty matter | 0·632 | | Cellulose | 0·200 | | Saline matter | 0·791 | | Water | 73·900 | | ———— | | 100·000 | See Plantain .