freeze of 1894-1895, destroyed all the plantations and ruined most of 

 the plaaters. However most of the growers were determtned to resist all 

 cbstaeles, — the class of men that make a nation prosperous. They obtained 

 from the Keys and the Bahamas fresh supplies of suckers and made new 

 plantations. Another freeze two years ago, much less severe than the 

 previous one, committed considerable destruction ; suckers sprang up 

 from the ground this time. Some pineries suHered more than others. 

 From year to year the growers live in terror of the return of this disaster, 

 though they look forward to comparative exemption from frost upon their 

 devoted culture. 



The soil here is practically the same as that at Orlando. The soil is a 

 Mystery, chemically anrl physically ; it is not known how Pineapples can 

 grow in soil which is practically devoid of plant food. "Just how it is 

 that the Pineapple can thrive in such soil that seems to be exceedingly 

 deficient in all the necessary qualifications of good land has not been ex- 

 plained. It will probably be neoessaiy to institute careful physiologi- 

 eal experiments with the plant itself before the matter shall be thoroughly 

 understood." Again I quote from the Agricultural experiment station 

 Report "we have bere a plant that increases in size during the period of 

 greatest drought, when there may be no raine for 6, 8, and at times 10 

 weeks, in a soil containing 99 . 44 per cent, of insoluble residue!" 



The average area of each pinery is from 20 to 60 acres. I noticed that 

 the smaller areas were under much better cultivation than the larger. This 

 is what might be expected, when it is remembered that a 60 acres pinery 

 contains some 700,000 plants. Throughout these thousands of acres of 

 pineries weeds are conspicuous by their absence. They are carefully sup- 

 pressed in the early stage of cultivation. The plants are set about 18 to 

 22 inches apart, some 12.000 to the acre, including passages. This ex- 

 tremely close planting is considered advantageous. 



It is claimed that this dense mass not only supports the plants and fruit, 

 but that it prevents the growth of weeds. The first crop is obtained in 

 about 20 months, and at this stage the fields piesent a fine symmetrical 

 appearance. For the second and subsequent crops, a couple of suckers are 

 left to each plant; this aggregates into a dense mass of plants after the 

 first crop is harvested, so much so that one wonders h"w the fruit is crop- 

 ped. Each sucker yields a fiuit, so that greatly augmented crops are ob 

 tained. From the period of planting the cultivation is kept up from 8 to 

 10 years. I noted that they passed their prime in 4 years, hence frequent, 

 replanting would be better, but a crop at least is lost by replanting, and 

 when they are densely massed a touch of frost affects them less than it does 

 those wioer apart. The 12,000 plants per acre is estimated to yield from 

 8,000 to 9,000 fruit per acre. These with the additional suckers yield from 

 9,000 up to as many as 1-5,000 per acre. I have frequently counted 8 and 

 10 fruits on a square yard. One man reaped 600 crates per acre this year, 

 though some growers got less than 200 crates per aore, and this may be 

 put down as the general average. 



The great bulk of the crop is harvested in June. Last June the growers 

 were unfortunate in having heavy rains ( 1 7 inches) which affected the 

 keeping quality of a considerable number of fruits. Not long before they 

 experienced a drought, the fruit was smaller on this account. The fruit 

 when packed is sent by rail to Jacksonville the great distributing centre 

 of Florida, — one day for this. They are then transferred to other trains 

 for the north, — 3 days more. When packed in the trains, a space is left 

 between the crates for ventilation. 



T)ie standard eiae of the oyate is 10^ by 12 by 36 inches, two divisions- 



