BOOK REVIEWS. 



589 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



" The Banana, its Cultivation, Distribution, and Commercial 

 Uses/' By William Fawcett, B.Sc. With an introduction by Sir 

 Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G., D.Sc, D.C.L., F.L.S. (8vo. xi + 287 pp. ; 

 illustrations. Duckworth, London, 1913.) ys. 6d. net. 



It is to the invention of the system of cold storage that the 

 enormous growth of the banana industry is due. Fifty years ago, 

 we are told by Sir Daniel Morris in his introduction to this book, the 

 value of the fruit exported from Jamaica was £728 ; now the value 

 is more than a million and a half sterling. Jamaica, however, is 

 only one of the countries engaged in this important industry, large 

 quantities of fruit being also exported from the Canary Islands and 

 Central and South America. The result of this is that the banana is 

 now one of the most famiHar of tropical products in north temperate 

 countries. 



The author, who writes from personal experience of the subject, 

 gained as Director of Public Gardens and Plantations in Jamaica, 

 gives a very full account of the plants {Mtisa spp.) from which this 

 important fruit is derived, and deals fully with the methods of propaga- 

 tion and cultivation, and also with the soils and fertilizers found most 

 suitable to this crop, and the fungus diseases and insect pests to which 

 it is liable. The methods of transporting the fruit both by land and sea 

 are described, and perhaps few are famihar with the amount of care 

 and attention which is necessary in order to bring the fruit from the 

 grower to the consumer in the best possible condition. 



The chapter dealing with bananas as food will interest the general 

 reader, as will also the account of the various manufactured products 

 derived from bananas, such as alcohol, and banana flour. 



A general review of the cultivation of bananas and alHed plants 

 throughout the tropics occupies some nine chapters, and although 

 only a few of the countries export the banana, its importance as a 

 native food crop is evident. The plants related to the banana are 

 also described ; these include the " Traveller's Tree " (Ravenala mada- 

 gascariensis and R. guianensis), the Strehtzias, one species of which 

 (S. Reginae) is frequently cultivated in hot-houses for the sake of its 

 gorgeous and remarkable flowers, to which the common name " bird of 

 paradise flowers " is apphed ; the Wild Plantain " (Heliconia Bihai) 

 is also sometimes grown in hot-houses, especially the two forms aureo- 

 striata and ruhricaulis, on account of their handsome foHage. The 

 concise classification and descriptions of the species of Musa with which 

 the book concludes will be useful for reference purposes. 



The book is published under the auspices of the West India Com- 

 mittee ; it is well printed and contains some excellent illustrations, 

 and is furnished with a complete index. 



