16 



The Bahama Islands are composed of coral rocks, and the little 

 soil at any time could be only found in the crevices of these rocks. 

 Repeated plantings have exhausted what little soil there was, 

 until now the planter in these islands is confronted with the pro- 

 blem of how to continue an industry that at one time proved so 

 profitable. 



The Government some years ago passed a law forbidding the 

 exportation of any more pine-apple plants, hoping by this means 

 to save the declining industry, but government laws have failed, 

 because it was the exhaustion of the soil and not the loss of plants 

 that was responsible for the decline. 



Florida, in 1883, produced no pine-apples except on the out- 

 lying keys from which, like the Bahamas, the produce was ship- 

 ped in bulk to Baltimore in schooners to the canneries. In 1 884, 

 the few settlers on the eastern mainland of Florida began the 

 experimental planting of suckers that were obtained from the 

 Florida Keys. Later, as the business grew and the demand for 

 plants increased, the Bahama Islands were drawn upon and 

 many hundreds of thousands of plants found their way to Florida 

 to commence the industry that to-day forms one of the principal 

 sources of revenue of that state. 



The Florida pine-apple grower in all these years has had many 

 discouragements to contend with, and aside from poor soil, the 

 greatest enemy has proved to be frost. With this menace con- 

 stantly confronting it, the business has been kept in check and 

 no doubt will always be kept within certain bounds. 



Cuba produces more pine-apples than Florida, the Bahamas, 

 and the West India Islands combined, and the export of this 

 fruit is increasing rapidly every year. It pays the planter in 

 Cuba to grow pine-apples because of the extremely fertile soil, 

 and the frequent, cheap and quick transportation to the United 

 States, where a reduction of 20 per cent, on the duties is allowed 

 on this fruit. Little success could be expected from shipping 

 fruit from the British West Indies to England with the present 

 unsatisfactory means of transportation, for the reason that the 

 journey is too long, freight rates are too high, and private ship- 

 ments generally receive indifferent care by the transportation 

 companies. 



Jamaica enjoys direct communication with England by a sub- 

 sidized line, but this line gives the greater amount of attention to 

 the carriage of bananas, so as to fulfil its contract with the En- 

 glish and Jamaican governments. Private shippers, therefore, re- 

 ceive secondary consideration, and experience in the past has 

 shewn that losses are frequently incurred. During the past three 

 years, such have been the experiences of those who have made 

 earnest and repeated trials of private shipments that now no indi- 

 vidual shipments are made in the fruit line from Jamaica. 



Probably the best way of establishing a profitable pine-apple 

 business in Jamaica would be to build canning factories to utilise 



