PINE 



PINEAPPLE 



1343 



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 system is not well established. 



In transplanting, the utmost care must be taken not 

 to expose the roots to drying influences, a thin loam 

 puddle answering best to keep them moist. While 

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

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

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

 ferred. 



A large number of nurserymen's varieties, dwarf and 

 pendulous, varicolored, etc., have been developed, es- 

 pecially from P. sylvestris and P. Strobus. The most 

 interesting freaks perhaps are those bushy forms de- 

 rived from P. Canariensis and Pinea produced by lay- 

 ering, in which single needles instead of the usual bun- 

 dles of two in one sheath are produced, imitating the 

 primary single needles of seedlings. The manner in 

 which nurserymen's varieties are propagated by grafts 

 or cuttings is discussed under Pinus. 



According to the nature of the Pines, if there is choice 

 of location possible the well-drained situations, even 

 dry ones, should be reserved for them. They belong, 

 with few exceptions, to the hill-tops not the bottoms, to 

 the sands not clay soils, and will stand southern expo- 

 sures better than the spruces. 



Pines are frugal by nature, and can stand poverty bet- 

 ter than surfeit, nevertheless 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- 

 ment of the heavy tap-root system. Under such condi- 

 tions the peculiar rich foliage gives most satisfaction and 

 the rank, luxuriant growth which leads to poor form 

 is checked; disease from fungi is obviated; the cot- 

 tony scale (almost the only enemy of the White Pine) is 

 more readily fought, and injuries from caterpillars and 

 beetles are more readily repaired. 



To prune evergreens, and especially Pines, requires 

 an artist, or else the result will be malformation: the 

 best plan is to correct form by breaking out the center 

 bud from such shoots as project beyond proper limits; 

 thereby also a more compact growth is induced, which 

 in the Pines with their open habit is desirable. If it be- 

 comes necessary to top the branches, the cut must remove 

 also the bolster at the base of the branch; the resinous 

 exudation will prevent decay, and the cambium soon 

 covers the scar if the cut has been made properly. For 

 hedge planting the Pines furnish no specially desirable 

 material, being light-needing and therefore thinning out 

 soon in the interior; yet the White Pine will stand as a 

 hedge for a considerable time and also the dwarf P. 

 montana. Perhaps some others may answer the pur- 

 pose. 



For the botany of the Pines, see Pinus. 



B. E. FEBNOW. 



PINEAPPLE. The Pineapple (see Ananas) is indig- 

 enous to America. It produces one of the most de- 

 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 time required in transit. 



The amount of importations reached its maximum in 

 1894; viz., $750,000 worth. Since that time there has 

 been a rapid decline. But for a succession of severe 

 winters our own needs would be supplied from home- 

 grown fruit. In 1894, 4,000,000 "apples " were marketed 

 from Florida plantations ; this amount was largely re- 

 duced by the freezes of 1894 and 1895. The freeze of 

 Feb., 1899, again reduced the output, so that the crop 

 of 1900 only approximated that 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 1850 seems to be the earliest date 

 it 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 



85 



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 $j80 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. 

 The price of plants in the field varies from $3 per 1,000 

 for Red Spanish to $350 per 1,000 for the finer varieties. 

 The cost of cultivating and fertilizing an acre for one 

 year varies from about $20 to $150. It takes about 18 

 months from the time of setting out to the maturing of 

 the first crop, which yields 50-350 crates per acre. Under 

 favorable circumstances the second crop may be double 

 that of the first. By careful attention the plantation 

 may be continued for 8 or 10 years without resetting; 

 the second or third crop frequently bearing the maxi- 

 mum amount of fruit. 



When a common variety is planted the returns are 

 mainly from the sale of fruit, but with fancy varieties 

 the sale of plants constitutes the main source of returns. 

 Four hundred dollars or more per acre has been realized 

 frequently for a crop of the commonest varieties; in 

 this case increase in plants cannot be considered as of 

 much value. The value of a crop of fancy fruit is about 

 double that of the common, and $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 

 varies more or less with the distance the fruit is hauled. 

 This cost varies with the quantity shipped, from $20 to 

 $80 or more per acre. 



Soil. The Pineapple thrives in a variety of soils, 

 but whatever be its texture it must not be moist or wet. 

 The Pineapple plant will survive air-drying for months, 

 but decays rapidly in a moist atmosphere. The great- 

 est acreage is located upon dry, sandy land, formerly 

 overgrown with 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 commercial 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 

 Ibs. blood and bone and 400 Ibs. 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 

 July; 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 



