1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



15 



on the lee and shady side of a telegraph-pole 

 and drank from our canteen. 



IVe entered the country of large ranches, few 

 and far-betv/een houses, and few camping- 

 places. However, we sent our vaquero ahead 

 when we approached the next ranch, and se- 

 cured permission to camp. Our faces, when we 

 got where we could look at them, were nicely 

 frescoed with dust; ears full, more tears of 

 mud. On the whole it was an experience to be 

 remembered. The Salinas River is here bottom 

 side up as usual, and windmill water is used for 

 the herds of slock. Every thing is usually free 

 to the traveler on these large ranches; but they 

 have a sort of deserted appearance this dry 

 year — not so many men employed, and the cat- 

 tle were being driven off to better pasturage. 



The next day, as we pursued our journey we 

 ■passed through a herd of 500 cattle in search of 

 greener fields. All the way to Soledad we trav- 

 ■ersed a wind-swept road. It is hard to find, in 

 many portions of California, people who will 

 admit that their particular locality has any 

 •disagreeable features; but people here frankly 

 admit that they have a very windy country. 

 We cross the river at Soledad, and here it gets 

 Tight side up. and shows a fine stream of water. 

 From Soledad to Gousales (Goan-sr(?t'-lais) the 

 aspect of the country changes; the valley wid- 

 ens out, and large grain-ranches are the rule, to 

 the exclusion of fruit. There is enough moist- 

 ure here for the raising of a fair crop of grain, 

 •even in a dry year ; and the warehouses were 

 filled with sacks of grain, and piles of sacks 

 could be seen in the fields in every direction. 

 The people had a more hopeful expression upon 

 their faces, and it was pleasant to see the 

 change from the discouraged people we had 

 seen during the past hundred miles. Our va- 

 ■quero hustled for a job at every grain ranch; 

 and as he rode into a field where a steam- 

 thrasher was at work he bade us good-by. The 

 flopping ears of his steed flopped us a last fare- 

 well, and we entered the town of Salinas, and 

 sojourned for a couple of days. 



PINEAPPLES. 



HOW USED ; THEIR BEXEFICIAL EFFECT.S, ETC. 

 By O. O. P<ippleton. 



Friend Root: — Some time ago I promised to 

 tell your readers something about the use of 

 pineapples. They are a purely tropical fruit — 

 that is, they can not stand any frost at all, 

 without serious injury. For that reason their 

 ■culture has never been attempted in this coun- 

 try on a large scale until within a few years, or 

 «ince extreme South Florida has begun to be 

 settled; and even here their culture is confined 

 to such localities as are practically frost-proof 

 \>y reason of water protection, such as we have 



here on the St. Lucie River and other places, 

 or high ground, as on the Indian River, near us. 

 By far the largest part of all pineapples raised 

 in Florida come from the lower Indian River 

 country, within 25 miles from where I am now 

 writing— upward of 60.000 crates, or about 400 

 carloads, having been shipped this season from 

 the East Coast of Florida. 



An article descriptive of pineapple culture 

 might be interesting to many of your readers; 

 but it would be interesting only, and not of 

 practical value. 



At first we were not strongly impressed with 

 the value of this fruit for common every-day 

 use in the family; but it seems to be a fruit 

 that grows in estimation. We are now inclined 

 to rank it as very nearly if not quite equal to 

 the orange as a standard all-round fruit. 



There are a number of ways of using the 

 fruit. Probably the best way, as well as the 

 healthiest, is simply to select a well-ripened 

 apple; peel; dig out eyes with a sharp-pointed 

 knife, and eat it fresh out of hand, the same as 

 we do apples. Some prefer to use salt on them, 

 the same as we do on muskmelons. 



Our favorite way is to serve as sauce at the 

 table, exactly as we would strawberries. They 

 make excellent pies when made exactly the 

 same as are green-apple pies, which they re- 

 semble some in flavor, but are better. Good 

 marmalade is also made of them. There are 

 other ways of serving the fruit, but these are 

 our ways. In slicing pines for use as sauce, the 

 best way is, after they are peeled, to slice them 

 lengthwise to the core, but not through it, 

 about }4 inch apart; then cut similar slices 

 around the fruit. Then cutting off the sides of 

 the fruit leaves it all in very small pieces with 

 little labor. 



Some two or three years ago we saw an item 

 in a paper, calling attention to the value of 

 fresh pineapple juice in its action on tough 

 meats. We Floridians have a corner on tough 

 beef, so we tested the statement. Wife sprin- 

 kled a couple of tablespoonfuls of fresh juice 

 on about 1 lb. of very tough steak, let it stand 

 a few minutes, then cooked. The result was 

 marvelous to us. The steak was tender and 

 sweet, and some of it was actually cut into 

 meal. We are told that pineapple juice is the 

 active agent in the manufacture 'of beef meal, 

 and our own experiment shows that it could be. 

 We are also told that the juice is the best 

 known agent for the cure of croup and diph- 

 theria, its action on the diseased membranes 

 being the same as on dead flesh. Fortunately, 

 we here in Florida can not test that statement. 



Of course, it is easy to test the action of any 

 thing on articles of food before either is taken 

 into the stomach, but not so easy afterward. 

 Theory says the action would be somewhat 

 alike in both cases, and experience seems to 

 sustain that theory. We ourselves have never 



