THE PINE APPLE. 15 



The plants, when growing, commonly require a 

 great deal of water, and more when they set their 

 fruit. They should then be watered frequently all 

 over their leaves. Afterwards they must be treated 

 with more caution, and be less watered; for too 

 much water would be injurious about the time of 

 the ripening of the fruit, which would get watery, 

 and of a transparent greenish yellow, and be of infe* 

 rior taste and smell. Too little water dries them up, 

 and makes the marrow perish in the leaves, the first 

 signs of which are, when you hold the green leaves 

 towards the light, you will perceive them speckled 

 with yellowish spots. To produce proper fruit, the 

 plant of a sucker or crown must have grown well 

 and bulky, at least for three years ; the first sign of 

 setting fruit is, that its leaves spread a little, and 

 the plant opens a little in the heart where the fruit 

 soon shews itself like the head of a large nail. As 

 the fruit and stalk grow higher, the fruit grows 

 rounder, with pointed little leaves like thistles, on 

 some reddish, and on others whitish spreading 

 leaves. After the fruit has grown about a month, 

 and is of the size of a walnut, there appears out of 

 each knob a three-leaved pointed little flower, which, 

 in the Common Ananas, is of a pale blue colour; on 

 the Red Ananas, deep blue ; and on the third sort, 

 the Smooth Ananas, almost violet. This flower does 

 not fall off with the increase of the fruit, but 

 shrivels up, and leaves some visible remains be- 

 hind when the fruit has attained its full maturity. 



