228 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



leaves at the top of the fruit, the harvester cuts 

 off the stem at its base, and "chucks" the pine into 

 his bag. The saw-like leaves scratch viciously 

 at him as he passes on to cut the next ripe 

 cone, and when he goes to empty his bag into 

 the crates, distributed from wagons through the 

 field. 



Often I have seen the picker toss the fruits, as 

 he picks them, to a man outside the rows, who 

 catches them skilfully, and lays them uninjured, 

 in the crates. From the field, the filled crates go to 

 the packing sheds, where each sound pine is put 

 into a paper bag about its size, and closely packed 

 in crates that are loaded onto cars or into vessels 

 bound for distant cities. The processes are very 

 simple, and the solid fruit ripens in transit. 



New plantations are set with suckers, or offsets, 

 that spring out around the base of the pineapple, 

 or the stalk below it. The wild plant has seeds, 

 but cultivation has discouraged seed-production. 

 The seed-vessels become the fleshy substance 

 behind the "eyes." In the best varieties, even 1 

 the core is soft and luscious. 



There is no more refreshing fruit in the world 

 than ripe pineapples. But we must eat them in 

 the field, or at least close to the place in which they 

 are grown, because fully ripe ones are not able to 



