THE PINEAPPLE. 



THIS tropical fruit is so-called" 

 from its resemblance in form 

 and appearance to the cones of 

 some species of pine. Its 

 botanical name in most general use is 

 Ananassa sativa, but some botanists 

 who do not regard it as distinct from 

 Bromelia, call it B. ananas. The Bro- 

 meliaceoi, to which it belongs, are a 

 small family of endogenous plants, 

 quite closely related to the canna, 

 ginger, and banana families, and dif- 

 fering from them in having nearly 

 regular flowers and six stamens, all 

 perfect. As the pineapple has become 

 naturalized in parts of Asia and Africa, 

 its American origin has been disputed, 

 but there is little doubt that it is a 

 native of Brazil, and perhaps some of 

 the Antilles, now a part of the domain 

 of the United States. This fruit is a 

 biennial, with the habit of the Aloe, 

 but with much thinner leaves. In cul- 

 tivation it early produces seeds but, in 

 ripening, the whole flower cluster un- 

 dergoes a remarkable change; all parts 

 become enormously enlarged, and when 

 quite ripe, fleshy and very succulent, 

 being pervaded by a saccharine and 

 highly flavored juice. Instead of being 

 a fruit in the strict botanical sense of 

 the term, it is an aggregation of acces- 

 sory parts, of which the fruit proper 

 forms but a very small portion. 



The first pineapples known in Eng 

 land were sent as a present to Oliver 

 Cromwell; the first cultivated in that 

 country were raised in about 1715, 

 though they were grown in Holland in 

 the preceding century. The success- 

 ful cultivation of the fruit was early 

 considered one of the highest achieve- 

 ments in horticulture, and the works 

 of a few years ago are tediously elab- 

 orate in their instructions; but the mat- 

 ter has been so much simplified that 

 anyone who can command the proper 

 temperature and moisture may expect 

 success. 



For many years pineapples have 

 been taken from the West Indies to 



England in considerable quantities, 

 but the fruit is so inferior to that raised 

 under glass that its cultivation for 

 market is prosecuted with success. 

 The largest fruit on record, as the prod- 

 uce of the English pineries, weighed 

 fourteen pounds and twelve ounces. 

 Better West Indian pineapples are sold 

 in our markets than in thoseof England, 

 as we are nearer the places of growth. 

 The business of canning this fruit is 

 largely pursued at Nassau, New Provi- 

 dence, whence many are also exported 

 whole. The business has grown greatly 

 within a few years, and now that 

 the United States is in possession of 

 the West Indian islands, exportations 

 may be expected to increase and the 

 demand satisfied. 



More than fifty varieties of the pine- 

 apple are enumerated. The plant is 

 evidently very variable, and when 

 South America was first visited by 

 Europeans, they found the natives 

 cultivating three distinct species. Some 

 varieties, with proper management, 

 will be in fruit in about eighteen 

 months from the time the suckers are 

 rooted. The juice ol the pineapple is 

 largely used in flavoring ices and 

 syrups for soda-water; the expressed 

 juice is put into bottles heated through 

 by means of a water bath and securely 

 corked while hot. If stored in a cool 

 place it will preserve its flavor per- 

 fectly for a year. The unripe fruit is 

 very acrid, and its juice in tropical 

 countries is used as a vermifuge. The 

 leaves contain an abundance of strong 

 and \er)^ fine fibers, which are some- 

 times woven into fabrics of great deli- 

 cacy and lightness. 

 Nor is it every apple I desire; 



Nor that wliich pleases every palate best; 

 'Tis not the lasting*- pine that I require. 

 Nor yet the red-cheeked greening- I re- 

 quest, 

 Nor that which first beshrewed the name of 



wife, 

 Nor that whose beauty caused the golden 



strife. 

 No, no! bring me an apple from the tree of 

 life. 



C. C. M. 



