tte presence of another leading growpr, that if he had from the first, con- 

 fined his atteniion to 10 acres of sheds, he could have done better than by 

 cultivating 60 acres in the open. Most of his cultivation is now under sheds. 

 And the consensus of opinion is markedly in favour of shed culture. The 

 same grower declared that more nioney is made out of the Hed Spanish, 

 than from the fancy fruit at Orlando, the demand for them being infinitely 

 greater by reason of cheapness 



Oranges too, succeed perfectly in sheds, but the lofty structures requisite 

 are very expensive. 1 have seen dozens of acres. Horticultural] y the 

 system ensures tlie most vigorous development of plants. At the great 

 Hotels at Palm Beach, &o., ornamental plants are extensively cultivated 

 in sheds. A notable instiince of the importance of shed cultivation was 

 expounded to me at Washington on my return from Florida. One' of the 

 experts at the Agricultural Department thus called my attention to the 

 fact that in the vicinity of Tampa on the west coast tlie shed system for 

 cultivating Tobacco is adopted with remarkable results, both as to quality 

 and quantity " the crop is so valuable that the land is now covered with 

 chee&e cloth placed on wood framed 9 ft. high". In Jamaica, under sheds 

 Tobacco iiiay become an important industry. The quantity per acre 

 would be gteatly augmented as well as improved in quality, and it can be 

 grown in places where it cannot be grown successfully without sheds. 



The conoluhions I arrived at with regard to the actual benefit conferred 

 on plants by the adoption of shed cultivation are as follows :— It mitigates 

 the fierce burning rays of a tropical sun upon plant life. It prevents con- 

 tinuous and excessive evaporation. It interrupts the force of winds which 

 conduces to increased evaporation and aridity. Thus the whole mass of 

 plants within creates atmospheric conditions of their own, conditions 

 which are suffused throughout the shed. 



Pineapples on the Keys. 

 From the port of Miami 26° 70' I proceeded in a schooner to Elliott 

 Key, and Key Largo, the latter about 26° 20' to examine the methods of 

 cultivation adopted there. Hundreds of acres are under cultivation on 

 these islands tince about 18G0 when they were introduced. On the keys 

 an absolutely different system of cultivation is carried on. Tbe plants ai-e 

 o-rown among the coralline rooks, between the crevices, the crow bar being 

 used to cipen the crevices for the plants. The vegetation on the rocks 

 consists ( f small scrubby trees. This is cut down and burnt. An inch or 

 two of decayed vegetable matter covers most of the rocks. About a year 

 after clearing this soil is completely washed into the crevices so that on 

 some plantations earth is invisible, the entiie surface being rock diificult 

 to walk over. In other places there are small collections of humus inter- 

 spersed among the rocks. The tuckers are actually planted to the extent 

 of 1,500 dozens to the acre (18,000.) The cultivation of each pinery is 

 kept up about 5 years. Fertilizers are not used. The cultivators 

 have the great advantage of having their fruit a few weeks earlier in 

 the market, than those cultivate i on the mainland and consequently realise 

 a higher price. There can be little doubt that the earlier crop, arises from 

 the high temperature emanated by the rock. 



Hybrid Pineapples. 



During my interview with Professor Webbei-, the eminent Chief of Hybri- 

 dization at Washington, on my way to Horida, 1 had the gratification of 

 seeing the first hybrid i'iueapple fruit. The first product of a new type 

 of Pineapple ; the result of many years of devoted skill ; a new departure in 

 the history of this fruit. This precious specimen created intense interest. 



Ou my return to Washington from Florida, I was informed by the Chief 



