THE PINE APPLE. 



HISTORY. 



This Queen of Fruits is found wild in the tropical 

 latitudes of America, Asia, and Africa. Tradition 

 says that, being native of the first of the above-named 

 of the earth's quarters, it was thence exported to the 

 others ; and this tradition is uncontroverted by the 

 earliest of the botanical writers to whom it became 

 known. They appear not to have become acquainted 

 with it until the commencement of the 1 7th century ; 

 for neither Lyte (in 15/8) nor Gerard (in 1597) no- 

 tice the pine apple in their " Herballs," published in 

 those years respectively ; but Johnson, in his edition 

 of Gerard, which issued from the press in 1633, 

 figures and describes it as follows : — " Ananas pineas, 

 the pinia, or pine thistle, is a plant having leaves like 

 the aizoon aquaticum, or water sengreene. The meat 

 of this fruit is sweet, and very pleasant of taste, yield- 

 ing good nourishment. There are certain small fibres 

 in the meat, which, though they do not offend the 



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