274 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1911 



Pineapples need but little cultivation once the slips 

 or crowns are set out. It is not seriously troubled 

 by insects 



A ripe pine may be located in the patch 

 by the fragrance which spreads far and 

 wide. A rat may have eaten one side 

 but you will find the other side very de- 

 licious. 



Good drainage seems essential to the 

 pineapple and it is no doubt for this 

 reason that it does so well in sandy soil. 

 In the Hawaiian Islands they grow pines 

 on a stiff soil, the favorite variety being 

 the smooth Cayenne. 



The pineapple is a strictly tropical 

 fruit needing lots of warmth, and, although 

 it will grow on sterile, sandy soil, it must 

 be carefully and abundantly fed with 

 fertilizer. The food it needs is rich — 

 such as cottonseed meal, unleached to- 

 bacco dust and dried blood and bone. 



Although the pineapple is referred to 

 as a semi air-plant, since it belongs with 

 a group of epiphytes, it must have some- 

 thing more than air to live on. Water 

 often stands in little pockets at the base 

 of the leaves. In this are often the dead 

 bodies of insects and it is quite likely 

 that the plant secures some sustenance 

 in this way. It is a very shallow rooter 

 and the roots must have air. I have 

 known pineapples to actually sucker them- 

 selves out of the ground and have found 

 them resting very loosely in the fluffy 

 humus which covers the rocks on the 

 Florida Keys. Although I have no means 

 of positively knowing I believe Florida 

 produces one and one-half million crates 

 of pines a year. Cuba probably exceeds 

 this amount, also the Bahama Islands. 

 This places the pine in the front rank with 

 other staple fruits. 



The Red Spanish is the chief commer- 



cial variety. It multiplies well, is hardier 

 and ships better than any other sort known 

 td the writer. The Porto Rico is a close 

 second. 



The pineapple is not seriously troubled 

 by disease and in spite of the small returns 

 it is still a favorite crop with many small 

 farmers. It is easily reproduced from 

 slips and suckers. Now and then a 

 fertile seed is produced. Pines may be 

 grown from rattoons which spring from 

 the root, suckers which grow on the stem 

 higher up, slips which grow at the base 

 of the fruit, crown slips which grow at 

 the base of the crown, and from the crown 

 itself. In this district slips from the base 

 of the fruit are ordinarily used. The 

 bottom of the slip should be cut smooth 

 with a sharp knife and the stem trimmed. 

 There is less danger of a trouble called 

 "tangle root." 



Canning factories use many pines, but 

 many go to waste that could be easily 

 converted into commercial alcohol. It 

 is one of the fruits which does not lend 

 itself to wine manufacture but would 

 probably yield a good cordial. The pine- 

 apple, it is claimed, contains a ferment 

 similar to the ferment in the pawpaw which 

 aids digestion. In the East the fiber 

 of the leaf is extensively used for cloth 

 manufacture. This cloth is as delicate 

 and beautiful as silk. The fiber is used 

 for nets, thread for sewing, etc., and 

 although very fine it is strong. I have 



The crop matures surely and over a considerable 

 length of time from a weU drained soil, but it needs 

 rich feeding 



often wondered why an extensive industry 

 in this line has not developed in the West 

 Indies. A pineapple field in dry weather, 

 like a field of cane, is very combustible. 



The scientific name of the pineapple 

 is now Ananas ananas, which is also a 

 common Spanish name for the plant 

 although pina is much more frequently 

 used. I have often thought that ananas 

 would be a better common name for it 

 than pineapple. It is, of course, nothing 

 like an apple and was so called probably 

 because it faintly resembles in shape the 

 pine cone. We are calling grape fruit, 

 pomelo; alligator pear, avocado; why not 

 call the pineapple ananas? 



It appears from present conditions 

 that in pineapple culture, in spite of the 

 duty. Western Cuba has the advantage. 

 When solid trainloads of pines sweep by 

 from Cuba over the Florida East Coast 

 Railway, and when his returns come in, 

 the Florida pineapple grower realizes 

 that he has a competitor to the south 

 of him and that he lives at a way station 

 on a West Indian trunk line. 



About Small Irrigated Farms 



TTHE situation has doubtless changed 

 somewhat since I visited Sanford last 

 February, and looked into the celery 

 situation there (see page 262). Land, for 

 example, is presumably higher. But I 

 I do not wish to " boom " Sanford or 

 any other locality. I wish to discover 

 principles. The lesson of this article 

 is that irrigation combined with drain- 

 age means greater profit and insurance 

 against business failure. I would set peo- 

 ple in every state to thinking " How can I 

 get a drained and irrigated garden"? There- 

 fore, these remarks on irrigation by Mr. 

 Roosevelt seem to me well worth careful 

 consideration: 



"I believe the purchase of irrigated land 

 to be the best way for a man of small 

 means to make himself independent. 

 And I believe I am qualified to pass 

 judgment as I have been interested in 

 irrigation matters locally and nationally 

 for fifteen years. 



"The results are simply astonishing to 

 those unfamiliar with the great subject of 

 irrigation. And I believe the happiest man 

 these days is the man with the little ten- 

 acre irrigated farm — even five acres is 

 enough to support a family and keepitbusy. 



"The owner of a ten-acre irrigated farm 

 doesn't have to knuckle to the boss nor 

 strain his conscience in the intense com- 

 mercialism of the day. 



"His income is practically untouched 

 by financial depression. 



"His living and peace of mind are not 

 dependent upon the whim of any man. 



"He is king of his own little domain. 



"He can make his ten acres earn as 

 much as a quarter section (160 acres) 

 unirrigated would produce — as much as 

 between $20,000 and $80,000 in cash 

 would bring, loaned out at six per cent." 



New York. ''^^ M. 



