CHAPTER XIII 



THE PINEAPPLE 

 By OWEN THOMAS 



The pineapple, so named from its resemblance to the cone of the pine, grows 

 wild in abundance in many parts of Africa and South America, where it is 

 indigenous, and where it affords a valuable source of food to the native popula- 

 tion. The first pineapple in Europe is said to have been grown by M. le Cour 

 of Leyden. The Earl of Portland was the means of introducing this plant into 

 England from Holland in the year 1690. 



Brookshaw relates that when the pineapple first produced fruit in England 

 it was deemed to be so great a curiosity, and of so much importance, that persons 

 of rank came from France, Holland, and Germany to see it. He concludes it 

 must have been very rare, even had it in any instance produced fruits before the 

 year 17 16. Phillips, in his Pomarium Britannicum, says that "this fruit must 

 have been known in England long before it was attempted to be grown here, as 

 Lord Bacon mentions it in his Essay on Plantations, which was published nearly 

 a century before the introduction of the pineapple by the Earl of Portland ; but 

 I am strongly persuaded that the fruit had been cultivated in this country at a 

 much earlier period than that mentioned by Sloane, and this opinion has been 

 strengthened by a curious old picture which the Earl of Waldegrave obligingly 

 showed me in the breakfast- room of his beautiful residence. Strawberry Hall, 

 Twickenham. The painting represents King Charles II. in a garden before 

 his palace at Ham, attended by two of his favourite breeds of spaniels, where 

 Rose, the royal gardener, is presenting his Majesty with the first pineapple." It 

 is probable that the method of raising the pine not being understood, the plants 

 were by some accident lost in this country until they were introduced a second 

 time. The interest aroused on its first introduction and in its successful cul- 

 tivation has been more or less maintained from that time until now. This was 

 especially the case thirty or forty years ago when the art of successful pine 

 culture was held in such high esteem. I well remember the great enthusiasm 

 of those days in the culture of this fruit, and the tireless efforts put forth to 

 excel in the same, and it is certain that finer pineapples than were grown in 

 those days have never been seen in this country. Indeed I believe I am justified 

 in saying that the art of pineapple culture has steadily declined from that time 

 to the present, with very few notable exceptions. The cause of this is not far 

 to seek, and is chiefly accounted for, not only by the increased number of pine- 

 apples imported into this country, but also by the great improvement in their 

 quality as placed on the markets. There is, however, no comparison as regards 



