ANANAS 

 SATIVA 



Pine-apple 



Sandy Loams. 



Rich Soil 

 Recommended. 



Dried Pish. 



Shade. 

 Watering. 



Exhaustion. 



By Suckers. 



By Crown of 

 Leares. 



By Seeds. 



Plants to the 

 Acre. 



Continuous 

 Cultivation. 



Cold-season 

 Fruit. 



THE PINE-APPLE 



pines, such as the Ceylon, Penang and several English hot-house forms, 

 occasionally met with in the fruit gardens of Europeans. Practically, 

 therefore, little or nothing has been published as to the cultivated races of 

 the plant met with in India. 



Soils, Manures, etc. Nicholls says the best soil is a sandy loam 

 with good drainage, and next come the free sands and gravels. Clay of 

 all kinds and badly drained lands are unsuited. A good proportion of 

 lime is advantageous, but animal manure, unless perfectly rotted, should 

 not be put near the plants as it is inimical to their growth. Speede, one 

 of the earliest of Indian practical writers, on the other hand, affirms that 

 no soil can be too rich and no manure too strong for pine-apples. Woodrow 

 recommends dried salt-fish as a manure, and urges that during the first 

 opportunity of dry weather in the monsoons the manure should be dug 

 into the soil. But as opposed to such views, and in support of the West 

 Indian experience, Firminger tells us that he found the plants to rot 

 and perish from an oversupply of manure. Further that a soil tho- 

 roughly lightened with leaf-mould, well-decayed cow-dung and sand, may 

 be mentioned as that on which pine-apples will thrive to perfection. He 

 then urges that shade of any kind is to be avoided, as it will increase the 

 size of the fruit but greatly injure its flavour. Repeated watering, as the 

 fruit forms, is essential. Firminger further urges, as of great importance, 

 that the plants should be removed after comparatively short intervals to 

 new soils. On this subject Nicholls remarks that after three or four years 

 the plants show signs of exhaustion, and they must in that case be up- 

 rooted and the land prepared for fresh stock. 



Propagation and Seasons. When the fruit has formed, numerous 

 suckers will be found around the parent stem. These are preferably 

 selected for propagation, though of course plants may be raised from the 

 crown of leaves taken from the fruit, and even from the black seeds often 

 found within the fruit itself. In the West Indies it is stated that in lining 

 an estate the distances apart at which the suckers are to be planted should 

 not be less than 3 feet, which would give nearly 5,000 plants to the acre. 

 Nicholls adds, however, that " a better plan would be to line out the land 

 in rows 6 feet apart, and to plant the suckers at a distance of 3 feet in 

 the rows this would allow nearly 2,500 plants to the acre ; and after the 

 first crop a few of the suckers, say four to each plant, could be left, and 

 then this would give nearly 10,000 fruits for the second crop." It is most 

 important to have fairly large spaces between the rows, since the plants 

 being spiny the necessary room for working the land has to be provided. 

 Moreover, after uprooting and preparing the land for re-lining it is possible 

 to set the new plants on the interspaces not occupied by the former 

 crop, and thus to continue cultivation on the same land very nearly 

 indefinitely. 



The fruit comes into season in the West Indies in from eight to nine 

 months from the time of planting. Firminger says that for the Lower 

 Provinces of India the proper season for planting out pine-apple is in 

 August. The plant flowers in February and March and ripens its fruits 

 in July to August, after which, in September and October, it makes its 

 perfect growth. It sometimes happens, however, that it breaks into 

 flower during the latter months and produces fruit in the cold season 

 most undesirable condition, since without heat the fruit cannot ripen and 

 is accordingly acid and uneatable. On the other hand, Woodrow, writing 



68 



