June 1908.] 



527 



Edible Products. 



successful results. Many obstacles were 

 encountered before the business could be 

 made profitable ; mistakes were made 

 and losses incurred.* 



Another canning factory is now being 

 erected in Trinidad, which may prove a 

 profitable investment to those who have 

 had the courage to lay out their money 

 in a new enterprise. Every encourage- 

 ment should be given the promoters by 

 the planters in Trinidad, who, if they 

 planted largely, would find ready sale 

 for all their fruit at remunerative prices. 



Establishing Fields. 



To establish a pine-apple plantation 

 needs some knowledge as to the proper 

 methods to follow, and although Cuba 

 produces millions of fine pine-apples, the 

 method of laying out fields in Cuba are 

 somewhat crude. 



The Cuban method is to plough the 

 land, turn up ridges about 3 feet apart 

 as for sweet potatoes, and then to plant 

 the pine-apple suckers along the top of 

 three ridges about 8 inches apart in the 

 rows. This method of planting is not to 

 be recommended, for the plants are too 

 far apart between the rows and too close 

 together in the rows. The plants receive 

 no support from one another, and when 

 they fruit, the weight causes them to 

 turn over. In consequence, the fruit 

 becomes sunburned, the plants become 

 uprootod, and the suckers find much 

 difficulty in striking their roots into the 

 soil. The fields soon deteriorate, as the 

 sun bakes the soil and burns the roots of 

 the plants. 



The Cuban possesses an idea of drain- 

 age, but his understanding of this neces- 

 sary part of pine-apple cultivation is 

 very crude, and it might be anticipated 

 that if he only knew more about the 

 proper cultivation of pine-apples, much 

 better results would be obtained. 



After twenty-four years devoted 

 to the growing of pine-apples both in 

 the sandy soils of Florida where no 

 drainage is ever needed, and a long ex- 

 perience in Jamaica where the soils are 

 heavy and where thorough drainage is 

 absolutely necessary, I have to make the 

 following observations for the guid- 

 ance of those that are about to embark 

 upon the cultivation of pine-apples :— 



The prospective pine-apple grower 

 should select his soil with the greatest 

 care. The best soils are probably light 

 loams, rich in humus. A heavy cold soil, 

 or soil inclined to become sticky or 

 gummy in wet weather should never be 



* The late earthquake destroyed all the stock of 

 goods that had been made up, which happened to 

 be atoted. in the city of Kingston* 



chosen. Look for what is a good scoring 

 soil containing sufficient sand to make 

 it pliable at all times, and it is advisable 

 that it should slope gradually. Hilly 

 parts should be passed by. First, the 

 land should be thoroughly ploughed, 

 then cross ploughed, and harrowed 

 until it is thoroughly pulverized and 

 freed from the smallest lumps. A wheel 

 or disc harrow is the only tool that can 

 get such land into proper condition. 

 This should be followed by an Acme 

 harrow which will smooth and level 

 the land. A tooth harrow should not 

 be used, for this tool only pulls out the 

 grass and weeds, and brings to the sur- 

 face trash, which is best left in the soil 

 to assisting in enriching the land. After 

 the land has been prepared, mark off 

 with a line for trenches. These trenches 

 should be 14 inches wide and 14 inches 

 deep, and should follow the slope of the 

 laud in order to afford proper drainage. 

 The trenches should be 12 feet apart, 

 they should be made perfectly straight 

 and in line, and all soil taken from them 

 is best thrown equally on both sides in 

 order to build up the beds. This soil, 

 then, should be raked towards the 

 centre of the beds and brought some- 

 what higher in the middle than at the 

 sides, so as to allow a difference of about 

 6 inches between the height in the 

 middle and that along the edge of the 

 trenches. A fine-tooth steel rake 

 should be used, and the beds should be 

 made as smooth and even as possible. 



When the trenches and beds have 

 been completed, mark off each bed into 

 checks 18 x 18 inches. This will give 

 about nine rows along the beds. The 

 cross checks should be made regularly 

 except at intervals ; two lines can be 

 admitted so as to allow for paths. These 

 marks should be made with a wooden 

 marker, and they should be perfectly 

 straight to facilitate subsequent culti- 

 vation. The plants are then dropped at 

 the intersection of each mark. They 

 are then ready for the planter, who witn 

 a good strong trowel follows along and 

 sets the plant at each cross marked at a 

 depth of one-fourth of their length. 

 This depth of planting is to be recom- 

 mended, no matter what the length of a 

 plant. If planted to shallow, they will 

 not become sufficiently rooted, and 

 heavy winds will blow them out of the 

 ground ; and if planted too deeply they 

 are liable to be smothered by having 

 the soil filling the hearts. Suckers or 

 slips that are longer than 12 inches can 

 be lopped off and brought down to 8 

 inches so as to facilitate rapid planting 

 and to prevent their being blown out of 

 the ground before they have taken root. 

 It the suckers are not planted iu strictly 



