(3 vols., Belgrade. 1847). From 1840 till l8o3 he published the literary magazine Diibrovnik, at the city of the same mime. Besides a drama, Meirhna, he published in his native tongue Various Songs (1853), mostly on erotic and po- litical themes, and the following year was ap- pointed instructor in French and Italian at the Belgrade Lyceum. The adverse criticism evoked by his ode addressed to the Sultan forced him to resign this post and spend the rest of his life m literary labors and travel. Among his tragedies the most noteworthy are Dohrilo and Milenlcd : Tsar Lazar: The Death of Prince Dohroslav; Jan Bks (1884): Martha the Htathohler ; or, The Fall of Xorgorod the Great (1881).
BANA, ba'na. A thousand-armed deity in
Hindu mvthology. His arms were cut off by
Krishna, but his life was spared by the inter-
position of Siva (q.v.) who was his friend.
BANA (seventh century A.D.). A Sanskrit
autlior. His gi-eatest works Avere two novels, the
II, rrshacarita^ or Adrcnturcs of Harsha, a his-
torical romance, and the Kadainliarl. Both ot
r.ana's stories are largely indebted to the Vasa-
radatta of Subandhu (q.v.). He also vrot« the
Parvattparinayanatakam. or Parrati's Marriane,
based on the kumarasamhhara of Kalidasa (q.v.)
and a farce, the Sarracarita. A lost drama by him
entitled Mukutataditaka is mentioned, and some
have ascribed to iiim the Buddhist play ya.gS-nanda, or Joy of Serpents, usually attributed to
Hai-sha or to Dhavaka. Bana's lyrics are con-
tained in his Caiiduiataka, or Century of Durga.
BANAK, biin'ok, or BANNOCK (native name
jian-iti). A warlike tribe of Shoshonean stock,
formerly roving over southern Idaho and eastern
Oregon, and now concentrated upon the Fort
Hall and Lemhi reservations, Idaho. Their lan-
guage is the same as that of the Piute of Ne-
vada. The Baiiaks of Lemhi number only dO.
Those at Fort Hall are confederated with the
Shoshoni, the two tribes together numbering
1400 persons, "so intermarried and related to
each other that it is nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other."
after attaining a height of 3 feet, by cutting
them loose with a spade; such plants should be
set deeply in rows 8 to 12 feet apart, so that
the broad leaves will shade the ground. It can
be increased by root-cuttings planted shallow and
covered with ' peat or peaty compost. Young
plants of this sort must be transplanted to full
licht, and be given ample room as soon as two or
three leaves have formed. The banana begins to
bloom in 1% to 2 years after being established.
The rtower-bud is a" peculiar, large heart-sliaped
formation which, on developing, exposes a true
(lower under each of its scales. From 50 to 150
of these may be developed in a single bud, from
which a bunch containing as many bananas
will develop. The ]ilant grows from 10 to 40 feet
in height and carries a whorl of broad orna-
mental leaves at the top of the stalk. A stalk
bears but once, dies down, and is replaced by-
sprouts, 2 or 3 of which are allowed to bear.
The species grown for their fibre, as well as
those grown for ornament, usually produce seed,
while the edible banana of commerce is seedless.
Those which bear seeds are usually propagated
liy seeds, as it is more economical. Dwarf sorts-
are chiefly used for ornamental planting and
landscape effect.
There are many varieties of the banana, but the variety most" commonly gro«Ti is the Mar- tinique, a" large yellow fruit growing in large dense clusters. The hara^oa, or Red Jamaica, is now but sparingly grown as compared with a few years ago, and is seldom exported. The" consumption of bananas in the United States alone has developed from a few hundred bunches, in 1870, to .$5,()00,000 worth, in 1899. The fruit comes chiefly from the West Indies and Central America, although some is produced in Florida, Louisiana, and California. Banana flour is rapidly becoming a staple article of com- merce. See also Plantain. For illustration, see Breadfruit Tree.
BANANA-BIRD, The name of several birds
which feed on bananas. In the American tropics
any species of oriole ileteriis) or a hangnest may
be so called, though this is a book-name rather
BANANA, ba-na'na. The only seaport of the tlian one in common use. (See Oriole.) In Ja-
Congo Free State, and situated on a small penin- ^aica and the Antilles, the small honey-creepers
sula on the western coast of Africa, at the mouth ^^ ^j^^ genus Verthiola are popularly called
of the Congo (Map: Congo Free State, B 4)
The town contains a number of foreign factories,
and has a white population of about 120. The
port is connected by steamsliip lines with Ham-
hurff. Liverpool, and Antwerp.
BANANA, ba-nii'na ( Sp. the fruit of the tree
lu)irino). A name applied alike to the well-
known fruit and to the plant which bears it.
The specific name, Musa stipientium, signifies
'muse of the wise,' and is intended to convey an al-
lusion to a statement l>y Theophrastus concerning
a fruit which served as food for the wise men of
India, and which, from his description, is sup-
posed to have been the plantain or banana. The
names plantain and banana are somewhat
vaguely used in their application to different cul-
ti^ted varieties. The banana is a tropical plant
grown for its fruit, fitirc and the beauty of its
foliage. It is evidently of Indian origin, but is
now extensivelv cultiv"ated in all tropical coun-
tries of the world. It is a large herbaceous
plant with a perennial root or rhizome, from
which the plant is perpetuated by sprouts or
suckers. The voung plants may be transplanted
banana-quits (see Plate of Creepers), and the
African plant-eutters — glossy black, cuckoo-like
birds of the genus :Miisophaga — are styled ba-
nana-eaters.
BANANA FAM'ILY. See Musace.e.
BANANA-FISH. See Ladyfish.
BANANAL, bii'na-nal' (also called Santa
Anna). An island lying in the Rio Araguaya,
Province of Goyaz, Brazil (Map: Brazil, G 0).
It is over 200 'miles long, with a width of 35
miles; has a fertile soil and forests of valuable
woods. North of the centre is a lake of consid-
erable size.
BANAS, ba-niis', or BUNAS, bunas'. A
river of R.ajputana, near the Aravalli Hills,
and joining the Chambal after a northeasterly
course of over 300 miles (Map: India, C 3).
BANAT, ban'at, Gcr. pron. ba-niif (for derivation see Ban ) . A common name applied to any district or territory under the administration of a ban, but specially used in connection with a district of southern Hungary comprising
