Hen and chickens pines with a number of small fruits surro aid- 

 ing the big central one, which is yellow and has the conic shape 

 of the Sugar loaf pine is a well known curiosity. 



Propagation. 



Pines can be propagated by means of the off shoots or suckers 

 from among the lower leaves of the plants. They are pviled or 

 cut off and allowed to dry a little in the sun and then planted. 

 Some planters in other parts of the world recommend that tliev 

 should not be allowed to dry thus, but this depends really on the 

 humidity of the season and climate. These suckers if sufficiently 

 dry will travel well for a long distance. They should be wrapped 

 in tinfoil or some such material. If sent damp they will quickly 

 rot as they will if packed at all damp in bulk. Several suckers of 

 the Spineless Guatemala pine were lately received from Mexico 

 sent through the post wrapped in tinfoil by Mr. J. C. H.\R\ KY and 

 arrived in the best condition. 1 hese suckers should fruit in 12 to 

 15 months after planting. Some varieties of pines send out. sub- 

 terranean shoots, ratoons which can be utilised. The suckers 

 selected for planting should be according to a writer in the Jamaica 

 Bulletin, strong fresh ones 12 to 15 inches long, but those used 

 here are generally much shorter. The lowest leaves are usually 

 pulled off before planting so as to allow a bare piece of stem to fix 

 the plant in the ground. 



Slips or suckers from the base of the fruit above the leaves pro- 

 duced in some kinds of pines are used for planting. They are 

 stated to take not less than 18 months to produce fruit, being 

 slower than the suckers from below the leaves but the fruit is 

 larger and better. It is recommended that these slips should be 

 removed where possible from the base of the fruit as they are 

 injurious to the development of the fruit. 



The tops or crowns of the fruit can be planted if necessary, but 

 this is not recommended except in exceptional cases, as they are 

 very slow of growth. It is not at all uncommon to see plants 

 growing along roadsides or in waste ground which have sprung 

 from tops thrown away by some one who has been eating pines in 

 the neighbourhood. 



Seed is occasionally produced but not often at least in the Malay 

 Peninsula and pines containing seed are generally inferior in tex- 

 ture and flavour. They can be used if required for planting but 

 are practically only sown in the case of hybridization which is 

 occasionally done in the West Indies and Florida. 



Soil. 



The soil used for pine-apple culture in Singapore is the ordinary 

 earthen stiff clay soil of the small hills which cover the island. 

 Most of these hills have been previously used for pepper and 

 gambier, and then abandoned, and often are covered with low 

 Secondary scrub which is burnt and the ground dug over before 

 planting. The scil is usually very poor, especially in potash 



