31 



no way injured by salt water. The soil, wliich was a beach sand, had 

 recently been cleared of its natural fj:rowth, consist in<r mainly of cocoa- 

 nut, sea jjrape, coco plum, a few sour orange, and the usual tro])ical 

 shore line plants. The top soil, which was of a very fine texture, 

 almost dust like, was found to be only IS to 24 inches deep underlaid 

 with a hard formation of cemented sand particles. Moisture was 

 present in an overabundance in the top stratum, indicating the imper- 

 viousness of the subsoil. 



While it was fully believed that the physical condition of the soil 

 was the chief cause of the trouble, the extreme white color of the leaves 

 might indicate some chemical derangement, and experiments were 

 started June 2 to demonstrate the effect of fertilizers. The field was 

 divided into ten plats, of which No. 1 was planned to be drained with 

 surface ditches, No. 4 received an application of native guano. No. 9 

 received iron sulphate, and No. 10 was left for check. The other six 

 plats were fertilized with commercial fertilizer in various combinations, 

 which was applied under the direction of the horticulturist, one plat 

 also receiving a liberal amount of lime. 



The field was again visited October 15 and it was found that the 

 owner had failed to drain plat No. 1 as agreed. The plants in all 

 the plats were practically unchanged in color, but 20 to 30 per cent 

 were found to be rotting in the heart and the heart leaves falling out, 

 leaving the outside whorls intact. This is often met with in water- 

 soaked soil, and can sometimes be partly remedied by drainage and 

 aerating. Unfortunately that part of this experiment w^as not car- 

 ried out, but in all probability it would have been of no avail in this 

 case. It is safe to say that the soil was physically unfit for pineapple 

 growing. 



The station pinery planted with Cabezonas in the fall of 1903 

 (PI. Ill, fig. 2) yielded a crop which was far above the average for 

 that variety in Porto Rico or in Florida. Fully 95 per cent of the 

 plants bore fruit, none of which were much below 5 pounds and the 

 majority ranged from 8 to 15 pounds. As the soil in which these 

 were planted is essentially the same as the majority of upland soil in 

 this vicinity, it would probably be safe to apply the following figures 

 to a large field : Planted 24 by 24 inches in beds 6 feet wide, with paths 

 6 feet wide between, will give 5,445 plants per acre. Reckoning on a 

 yield of 85 per cent of marketable fruit the first cutting, this would 

 average 4,628 pines per acre. These pines growTi at the station were 

 experimented with in various ways, to demonstrate the keeping and 

 shipping qualities. One barrel was packed May 5 and sent by coast- 

 wise boat to San Juan, where it was transferred to the steamship 

 Ponce, which left that port May 9 for New York. A report blank was 

 sent to the steward, asking him to open the barrel May 10 and remove 

 one fruit every day and report on the condition. He reported as 



