THE BANANA 253 



ill which names are printed in catalogues has resulted in what can 

 only be described as chaos. Names are given which have no 

 application to the plants described, and sold as such : the names 

 of others sometimes look as if they were taken from one of the 

 old herbals. 



A condensed description of each genus is given, followed by the 

 native localities. The descriptive portion is characterised by the 

 excellence which we always expect, and never in vain, to find in Mr. 

 Bailey's work. Keys to the species are added, arranged primarily 

 to aid the gardener in making determinations. The species are 

 arranged systematically; and, where necessary, an alphabetical 

 index is supplied for rapid reference : a list of synonyms and refer- 

 ences is appended. The descriptions are excellent : although the 

 editor hopes "that every entry will be worked over and improved 

 within the next decade," the book is as authoritative and excellent 

 as it is possible to be. The compilation is comprehensive, and 

 the treatment of modern theory and practice exhaustive. 



The book is clearly printed on good paper, and well and 

 neatly bound. The illustrations are clear and to the point, 

 though some are of little artistic merit. As a Cyclopedia it 

 stands far above anything we have seen, and the publication of 

 the succeeding five volumes will be looked forward to with interest. 



J. K. Eamsbottom. 



The Banana : its Cultivation, Distribution, and Commercial Uses. 

 By William Fawcett, B.Sc. 8vo. Pp. xi. 287, tt. 17. 

 London: Duckworth. 1913. Price 7s. 6fL 



Mr. Fawcett is to be congratulated on the appearance of a 

 useful and much-needed handbook. It embodies the experience 

 gained during his twenty-one years' residence in Jamaica as 

 Director of Public Gardens and Plantations, a period during which 

 the value of the bananas exported from the island increased from 

 £250,000 to £1,000,000. To the results of his own experience 

 Mr. Fawcett has added those of an exhaustive study of the 

 literature of his subject, including the cultivation of the fruit in 

 the Tropics generally. 



The banana is the product of cultivated varieties of three 

 species of Musa — M. sainentum, cultivated extensively in Jamaica 

 and Central America and also in Malaya ; M. Cavendishii, the 

 smaller and more delicate-tasting Canary Island banana ; and 

 M. acuminata, grown in Malaya. The plantain, a much larger 

 fruit, used cooked before it is ripe instead of bread or potatoes, is 

 the product of another species, M. paradisiaca. Plantains are 

 not exported to Great Britain, and, as Mr. Fawcett remarks, " they 

 are not much wanted in countries where potatoes are plentiful 

 and much cheaper, and are more valuable than bananas in the 

 countries where they grow." After a preliminary chapter giving 

 a full account of the structure of the plant-root, stem, leaf, tlower 

 and fruit, a number of chapters are devoted to its cultivation, 

 including the question of manures and fertilizers, with a short 



