The Banana, Its Cultivation, Distribution and Commercial Uses: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Banana, Its Cultivation, Distribution and Commercial Uses, credited to William Fawcett, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Banana, Its Cultivation, Distribution and Commercial Uses by William Fawcett. Read in English by LibriVox Volunteers. Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world according to the BBC. In this book we see how this fruit that is grown in limited areas of the world began its journey in agriculture and came to establish itself in the hearts and kitchens everywhere. In 1913, William Fawcett had been involved for thirty years in the development of the banana as a crop in Jamaica when he wrote this treatise on all aspects of the banana and its cultivation. - Summary by A. Gramour

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Banana, Its Cultivation, Distribution and Commercial Uses
• Author credits: William Fawcett
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 36
• Listed recording duration: 10:25:50

Catalogue topics

• Jamaica
• bananas
• cavendish bananas
• fruit culture
• tropical fruit
• fruit crops

Opening tracks: first 24 of 36

1. 00 - Forward and Preface — 6:31
2. 01 - I. The Plant. — 32:02
3. 02 - II. A Cultivation. General Operations. Preparation of Land. Clearing. Distance. Digging Holes — 10:51
4. 03 - III. Planting. Time of Year. Seed-Suckers. Preparation of Suckers — 3:59
5. 04 - IV. Irrigation and Drainage. — 3:24
6. 05 - V. Cultivation after Planting. Mulching. Earth Mulch. Dry Mulch. Green Mulch. Ploughing. — 19:35
7. 06 - VI. Pruning and Treatment of Suckers. Reasons for Pruning. Method. Choosing and Timing. Pruning Leaves. — 16:25
8. 07 - VII. Harvesting and Replanting. — 8:27
9. 08 - VIII. Bananas as Nurse-Plants and as a Catch-Crop. — 4:25
10. 09 - IX. Financial Considerations and Prospects for Beginners. Cost of Cultivation and Receipts. Prospects for those starting Cultivation. — 8:04
11. 10 - X. Banana Soils in Jamaica. — 15:15
12. 11 - XI. Humus. Farmyard Manure. Lime. — 7:04
13. 12 - XII. Fertilizers. — 19:33
14. 13 - XIII. Fungus Diseases. — 38:31
15. 14 - XIV. Insect Pests. — 16:07
16. 15 - XV. Bananas as Food. — 40:15
17. 16 - XVI. Bananas in Medicine. — 4:11
18. 17 - XVII. Wine, Whisky, and Alcohol from Bananas. — 29:10
19. 18 - XVIII. Drying Bananas for Flour and Figs. — 20:48
20. 19 - XIX. Manila Hemp and other Fibres from Species of Musa. — 12:14
21. 20 - XX. Development of the Banana Trade — 26:47
22. 21 - XXI. Transport by Sea. — 14:21
23. 22 - XXII. Transport on Land. — 5:14
24. 23 - XXIII. General Review of the Cultivation of Species of Musa (Banana and Plantain) throughout the Tropics : India and Ceylon. — 19:46

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.