FRUITS 265 



pine plantations are on what seems to be an old sand 

 dune, and the soil is an almost pure white sand. Of 

 course, large quantities of fertilizer are required. 

 In Cuba, on the other hand, they are grown on the 

 heavy red cane lands without the use of fertilizers. 

 This is possible on account of the remarkable natural 

 underdrainage of these red lands. The additional 

 precaution is also taken of planting on ridges in order 

 to more quickly run off the surface water after rains. 

 In Florida, in order to economize space under the 

 expensive lathe houses, pines are planted very closely 

 on wide beds with narrow paths between the beds. 

 In Cuba, they are planted in single rows with the 

 plants about fifteen inches apart in the row. The 

 sets used for planting are of two kinds, suckers and 

 crowns. The first are side branches. These are 

 broken off and planted during late spring or early 

 summer, and they will produce a crop in twelve 

 months. They are only produced in small numbers, 

 however, so that most of the plantings are made with 

 crowns ; a circle of these offshoots comes out at the 

 base of each fruit. They are smaller than the 

 suckers, and it requires eighteen months for them 

 to produce fruit. They are usually planted in late 

 summer or fall. 



For distant shipment it is necessary to pick the 

 fruit while it is still quite green. This is unfortu- 

 nate, since the pine only develops its full sweetness 

 and flavor when allowed to ripen on the plant. 

 Those who have only eaten pines as they appear in 

 the Northern markets can have no idea of what a 

 delicious fruit it really is. A fully ripe pine is, how- 



