85 

 The pineapple does not flourish in the extremely hot por- 

 tions of the glo'be . Its largest acreage is confined to the 

 tropical islands or to the sea coast. The "best pineapple 

 regions in the world have a mean temperature of from 75 to 88° 

 and have the smallest annual variation. 



Soil 



The croi> can be grown upon land that will produce ordinary 

 vegetables, but the soil must be of a loose and open nature 

 and not allowed to become watei — soaked, Pree drainage of 

 soil is more important for pineapple growing than fertility 

 and humus. The soil prepared by the gardeners who grow this 

 crop under glass illustrates this point. Their standard 

 formula is about as follows : two parts decomposed fibrous 

 loam, one part well decayed manure, another part one -half inch 

 bones and pounded oyster shells. 



Propagation 



Suckers are planted for the main crop of the common vari- 

 eties. Slips and crovms take too long to matwe a croji to be 

 utilized excepting" when suckers are not to be obtained. Well 

 matured suckers will produce a crop in fotirteen to eighteen 

 months from time of setting out. 



It is desirable to strip off the lower leaves of the 

 suckers and to trim the butt end. Not to strip off these 

 leaves gives a tendency to tangleroot. After cutting the 

 end off square, the leaves may be stripped off until the newly 

 formed roots are visible. 



