PINE 



and transplanting in nursery rows when 1 or 2 years old 

 is practiced to secure a stocky root system. In Ger- 

 many one-year-old Scotch Pines are planted by the mil- 

 lion for forest purposes, but for ornamental purposes 

 older plants are to be used; yet it is safest not to use 

 them older than 3 or 4 years for permanent situations. 

 In the third year usually the first branching occurs, in- 

 dicating that the root sy^tijn is m.t wril establi.shed. 



In transpUintiiitr, the- uihh ,i ,:,r. must bo taken not 

 to expose tlu* routs to <li\iiiir in ilui iiccs, a thin loam 

 puddle answering List to k,..|, tli.-m moist. While 

 transplanting can he done at any time of the year, it is 

 safest to do so in early spring, except when a draughty 

 season is apt to follow, when fall planting is to be pre- 



PINEAPPLE 



1343 



ering, in which single ne,Mlli.-s itistoud ,,f the usual bun- 

 dles of two in one sheath are produced, imitating the 

 primary single needles of seedlings. The manner in 

 which nurserymen's varietios are propagated by grafts 

 or cuttings is discuss. . I in-l. rT'iM-. 



According to the naTii I' ' I' • -, if there is choice 

 of location possible ili ! situations, even 



dry ones, should be ii - :,>. m. They belong, 



with few excei.tiotis, t,, ;,,(,,- not the bottoms, to 



the sands not rli . .i, . : will stand southern expo- 

 .sures better ll,: i ■ . - ■ , . . 



Pines are fn;- > oi.l can stand poverty bet- 



ter than siirl'-]' . - II' \ ■ I :!,. li'NS they respond best to 

 medium conditions, namely, a mellow surface and well- 

 drained, deep, loamy sand, not too rich in organic 

 matter and loose enough to permit the natural develop- 



• ^pecially Pines, requires 



^^ ill be malformation: the 

 l.y breaking out the center 



iject beyond proper limits; 

 I 1,'rowth is induced, which 

 lialiit is desirable. If it be- 

 inches, the cut must remove 

 ■ f the branch; the resinons 

 ly. and the cambium soon 

 - been made properly. For 



iiish no specially desirable 

 : :ind therefore thinning out 



White Pine will stand as a 



licious fruits now regularly on our markets. The finest 

 qualities are developed when the fruit is permitted to 

 ripen naturally upon the plant. For distant markets 

 the crop has to be gathered in varying degrees of un- 

 ripeness to suit the tinn r. (,iiii,.l in If.insit. 



The amount of imiiori i ' ! its maximum in 



1894; viz., $750,000 won - t time there has 



been a rapid declitic. 1, ,• : ,i ,, ,!■ . .-ssion of severe 

 winters our own to.,!. i i„ ,n|, plied from home- 



grown fruit, 111 1-ii i II apples" were marketed 



from Floridii i i- amount was largely re- 



duced by th. 1 - l and 189.5. The freeze of 



Feb., 1899, airan i In i il.- output, so that the crop 

 of 1900 only approximated th.at of 1894. As a result of 

 these freezes, the plantations are now more carefully 

 protected by sheds and by being placed in frost-favored 

 locations. The year 18.")0 seems to be the earliest date 

 at which Pineapple-growing was attempted in the U. S. 

 This attempt was made near St. Augustine. Fla., ac- 

 cording to Taylor. In 1860 planting was commenced on 



the Keys, but the want of facilities for rapid transpor- 

 tation and the more favored Cuban and Porto Rican 

 plantations made the development slow. In 1897, 

 $15,000 worth was imported from the Hawaiian Islands, 

 but these islands will not offer enough fruit to seriously 

 affect the eastern market, though the importations will 

 increase largely. 



Profits.— Good Pineapple land may usually be obtained 

 from $1.50 to $60 per acre, the higher-priced land being 

 in favored locations, at railway stations and near settle- 

 ments. The cost of clearing and preparing varies from 

 $20 to $80 per acre, according to the cost of labor and 

 the character of the growth on the land. 



From 8,000 to 15,000 plants are needed to the acre, 

 varying with the variety and the notion of the planter. 

 •]■),,, |,,,i,,e ..f fi-nits in ti,.- ti,,!.l VMries from $a per 1,000 

 ■"■ !.■■ if ^1 !■ I,' - i"'i' !" 1 t lor the fine " ■ 



i/iiig an acre for one 

 0. It takes about 18 

 Mit to the maturing of 

 ■rates per acre. Under 

 id crop may be double 

 lention the plantation 

 irs without resetting; 

 tlv liraring the maxi- 



lliesaleol planl.s ,-, ,Ti - 



Four hundred dollar^ i 

 frequently for a inii 

 this case increase m | 

 much value. The valii 

 double that of the cor 



liiil Hilh lanev varieties 

 . main source of returns. 

 ,r acre has been realized 

 niinonest varieties; in 

 11 not be considered as of 

 op of fancy fruit is about 

 1(1 $1,000 worth of plants 

 may be sold without detriment to the plantation, if it is 

 a variety that is in demand. From this must be sub- 

 tracted the cost of transporting to the markets, which 

 11 III II ,1 less with the distance the fruit is hauled. 

 1 ~ with the quantity shipped, from $20 to 



s I' I'ineapple thrives in a variety of soils, 



1 ■ !,■ its texture it must not be moist or wet. 



I r iilant will survive air-drying for months, 



I ■ iiillyin a moist atmosphere. The great- 



J 1 located upon dry, sandy land, formerly 

 I, ,1-1, 1, 11 > nil spruce-pine (Pinus clausa) or a mix- 

 ture of spruce pine and hardwood. Chemical analyses 

 of the soil from Pineapple fields show an exceedingly 

 small fraction of a per cent of the essential fertilizer 

 ingredients present. A physical analysis shows that 

 the water content is very low. A considerable acreage 

 is located on the Florida Keys. Here there is only a 

 small amount of leaf-mold, often not more than an inch 

 on the average, covering a coralline rock. But for the 

 fact that Pinapples actually grow and make crops on 

 such soil it would seem entirely incredible. 



Fertilizers. —With conditions of soil as described 

 above, it is imperative to fertilize, and under the exist- 

 ing conditions in the Pineapple belt there is no other 

 remedy than the addition of commen'ial fertilizers, 

 and nothing better. While much is still to be learned 

 about fertilizing this crop, it is fairly well established 

 that for Pineapples on spruce pine land dried blood, 

 ground bone, and nitrate of soda are good sources of 

 nitrogen; that low-grade sulfate of potash, carbonate 

 of potash and high-grade sulfate of potash are good 

 sources of potash ; that acid phosphate should be used 

 in small quantities only or avoided, using pulverized 

 bone instead. A good plan for fertilizing is to drop a 

 small handful of cotton-seed meal into the bud imme- 

 diately after setting out. In October, apply about 600 

 lbs. blood and bone and 400 lbs. lowgrade sulfate of 

 potash (not kainit) per acre, or the equivalent of these 

 fertilizers in some of the forms mentioned above. A 

 second application may be made in the following Feb- 

 ruary; at this time the amount may be increased 10 to 

 25 per cent, according to the growth the plants have 

 made. A third application may be made in June or 

 .Inly; and if the plants have grown vigorously a still 

 further increase in amount may be made. A fourth 

 application may be made in October, increasing the 

 amount if the plants have grown vigorously. The suc- 

 ceeding applications may be made at the time suggested 



