21 



copies of which can be obtained either from agents in Canada or 

 from the Imperial Department of Agriculture. 



DISEASES. 



The pine-apple plant is not affected with many diseases. 

 Blight affects the Ripley and Queen family more than any other 

 kind, and when established is very difficult to cure or to check. 

 It sometimes spreads through fields with great rapidity, and within 

 a short time healthy looking fields may present a withered and 

 ruined appearance. 



Black heart usually affects the Ripley and the Queen family, 

 and can rarely be detected until the pine-apple is cut. Black 

 spots are to be found in the fruit that utterly ruin it. The Ripley 

 is extremely liable to this disease. 



VARIETIES. 



The Abbakka is probably the handsomest pine-apple grown, 

 but its quality is very inferior. It is watery and flavourless, and 

 a poor shipper. 



Smooth Cayenne — This is the St. Michael's pine-apple, and the 

 only variety that sells in the London market for the highest 

 prices. This variety cannot be grown with success in the West 

 Indies. It has repeatedly been tried at Jamaica, but has eventu- 

 ally been abandoned. 



The Smooth Cayenne will not endure the severe heat of the 

 West Indies, and whilst some few good specimens have been 

 grown, the cultivation has proved a failure. It is a watery pine- 

 apple and is a poor shipper. Its fine appearance only recom- 

 mends it. It is essentially a hot-house pine, and the expense and 

 great care incidental to its culture in the Azores compels the 

 grower to receive high prices for his fruit. 



Sugar Loaf. — This variety is of fine quality, but is too tender to 

 ship with safety. A few grown for local consumption and home 

 use are, however, acceptable. There are other sorts that are mis- 

 named ' Sugar Loaf in Jamaica, and few persons really know a 

 genuine pine of this variety, but when once shown, the differ- 

 ence between it and other misnamed varieties becomes apparent 



Black Pine or Black Jamaica. — This variety is so worthless that 

 a description is hardly necessary. Suffice it to say that it is a 

 course, ugly, watery, and insipid fruit that does not even deserve 

 consideration, except to warn the inexperienced grower against 

 planting it. 



Antigua. — This pine-apple is well thought of in Antiga but it 

 is too small, and possesses nothing to recommend it in any way 

 for shipping purposes. 



Sam Clark. — This fruit presents a pretty appearance, as it has 

 a tremendous top, but it is only of inferior quality, being small, 

 watery, and insipid. 



Red Spanish (erroneously named in Jamaica, Bull Head, Cow Boy, 

 etc..) — This variety, although subject to slight variations, can be 

 safely classed under one head ; namely, Red Spanish. This pine- 

 apple is the oldest variety and most extensively grown in the 

 world : it forms the entire crop of Cuba, Florida, and the Bahama 



