CHAPTER XV. 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



The Pine-apple, Bromelia ananas Linn., An- 

 anassa Thun., Sativa B. R., is undoubtedly a 

 native of the New World, although it has been 

 found in such great abundance as to appear to 

 be indigenous in Africa, which has led Afzelius, 

 a learned botanist of the seventeenth century, Mr 

 Geo. Don, a botanical traveller in that country, 

 the late Mr Sabine, and others, to express opi- 

 nions to that effect. It was cultivated in China 

 long ere its culture was attempted in Europe ; 

 and Father Athanasius Kircher describes it as 

 growing there, and producing fruit twice a-year, 

 and known to the Chinese by the name of Tarn- 

 polo-Mic. They, however, acknowledge having 

 received it from South America. It is also de- 

 scribed by Loureiro as occurring in Cochin 

 China, and that one variety of it continues green 

 when ripe, having a white flesh ; from which we 

 may suppose that it had even in his time sported 

 into varieties, for Kircher clearly describes it as 

 of a yellow colour. It is now naturalised in 

 most of the West India Islands, and in many 

 parts of the East Indies, in Surinam, New 

 Spain, &c. ; yet to all these, according to the 

 highest botanical authorities, it had at one time 

 or another been introduced from South America. 

 It is quite evident that it is not an original native 

 of Africa ; for the fruits of that country were so 

 well known to the ancients, and most of them 

 have been described by the authors who wrote 

 on the plants of India with so much accuracy, 

 that had so conspicuous a plant existed it could 

 not have escaped their observation. 



Its early history, and the date of its introduc- 

 tion into Europe, have now been pretty accu- 

 rately ascertained. The following account of 

 these we gave some years ago in " The Orchard," 

 and to that little further information has been 

 added since. " It was first discovered by Euro- 

 peans in Peru, where it is called Nanas, and was 

 by them first introduced into the West, and 

 afterwards into the East Indies, where it has 

 been long successfully cultivated." Parkinson, 

 writing in 1640, says, " It was first brought 

 from Santa Cruz, in Brazil, where it is natural, 

 both into the West and East Indies, being not 

 natural to either of them, but is only manured 

 there, and not growing plentifully." The ear- 

 liest account we have of the pine is in " The 

 Universal History of India," printed at Seville 

 by Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, who went 



to America in 1513. In this work he mentions 

 three kinds of pine-apples as being then known. 

 These the Spaniards designated by the general 

 name of Pinus, and often tried to send the fruit, 

 both in a ripe and green state, to Spain, but 

 without success. They also attempted its intro- 

 duction by sending the crowns, but these also 

 perished during the voyage. 



The next account we have met with of the 

 pine is in a " History of the New World," by 

 Geronimo Benzona, an Italian, who resided in 

 Mexico from 1541 to 1555, and published his 

 history in 1568. Andre Thevet, a monk, has de- 

 scribed this fruit under the name of Nanas, and 

 also informs us that in his time (1555-6) it was 

 often preserved in sugar. The year following, 

 Jean de Lery, a Huguenot priest, makes fre- 

 quent mention of it, and describes it as a fruit 

 of such excellence that the gods might luxuriate 

 upon it, and which should only be gathered by 

 the hand of a Venus. F. Hernandez being sent 

 by Philip II. of Spain to Mexico, amongst other 

 valuable information relating to the natural his- 

 tory of that country, transmitted to Europe 

 drawings of this fruit, which he designates Pinea 

 indica. 



The introduction of the pine into Europe ap- 

 pears to have taken place about the middle of the 

 seventeenth century, some say direct from South 

 America, but more probably from the West In- 

 dies; for at that period M. Le Cour of Leyden, 

 in Holland, had them in cultivation in his gar- 

 den at Driehock, where he attempted to grow 

 them without bottom-heat, treating them as 

 ordinary dry stove-plants. He afterwards, how- 

 ever, had recourse to low pits and tanner's 

 bark, and has left us a detail of his mode of cul- 

 ture, as well as plans of his pits, in a small work 

 in the Dutch language. It might appear from 

 the remark of the celebrated Lady Mary Mon- 

 tague, while on her journey to Constantinople in 

 1716, that the pine was not cultivated in Eng- 

 land at that date; for she says she saw pine- 

 apples served at the Electoral table at Hanover, 

 which she had never seen or heard of before. 

 This would almost lead us to doubt the MS. note 

 written by Mr Peter Collinson on the plate An- 

 anas in the " Hortus Medicus Amstelodamus," 

 saying, " Sir Matthew Decker first brought the 

 Ananas or pine-apple into England, to his gar- 

 den at Richmond, where I saw them about the 



