| Constituents | Banana | Sago | Corn Meal | Wheat Flour |
| Per Cent. | Per Cent. | Per Cent. | Per Cent. | |
| Water | 8.05 | 13.00 | 11.09 | 15.08 |
| Soluble albumen dextrine | 4.45 | |||
| Starch | 82.57 | 78.06 | 85.30 | 81.60 |
| Albumenoids | 2.28 | 2.57 | 2.37 | 2.11 |
| Fat | 0.77 | |||
| Ash | 1.88 | 0.53 | 0.43 | 0.35 |
In a report on the constituents and food values of most articles in common use on northern tables, the United States Department of Agriculture gave, in the year 1903, very valuable figures which show that nineteen vegetables and ten varieties of fruits which make up the chief of our diet, have the following parts and values:
| Elements | Vegetables | Fruits | Bananas |
| Carbohydrates, parts | 8.9 | 11.1 | 14.3 |
| Fats | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Protein | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Ash | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Water | 73.0 | 64.3 | 48.9 |
| Refuse | 14.8 | 23.1 | 35.0 |
| Fuel values | 203.9 | 204.0 | 260.0 |
This shows that while of valuable nutritive elements, the nineteen fresh vegetables have 11.3 parts and the ten varieties of succulent fruits have 12.1 parts, the bananas have 15.5 parts. From this it appears, also, that if the fresh fruits and vegetables were actually worth, as food, say $1.17, bananas of like weight would be worth 38 cents more.
HARD LABOR AMONG THE BANANAS
HARD LABOR AMONG THE BANANAS