130 



FLOEIDA FEUITS, 



Yet, another way of protecting pine-apples, and in fact any 

 plant from frost, is to make ready here and there, but especially 

 to the north and west of the plantation, small piles of heavy 

 timber, with light-wood knots ready for kindling on the ap- 

 proach of frost. Plenty of leaves and dampened brush should 

 also be at hand to cast on the blaze when once fairly started, so 

 as to make a " smudge fire" — that is, one that will give out a 

 sufficient heat while not burning away freely or clearly. The 

 cold winds that sweep Florida once or twice in ordinary 

 winters invariablv come from the north-west, and in arrang- 

 ing these protecting " smudge fires," this should be held in 

 mind, and the cold winds made useful by wafting the warmest 

 air just where it is wanted ; although, as we have seen, new va- 

 rieties can only be obtained from those very rare jewels, pine- 

 apple seeds, and not more than one in a hundred of these is of 

 any value, yet by long years of patience and perseverance a 

 number of varieties have been secured. 



Of these the following have been introduced and successfully 

 cultivated in Florida, doubtless, others will follow: 



SPANISH. 



The pine-apple has a bewildering number of aliases, as fol- 

 lows : " The Red Spanish," " Red Pine," because of the reddish 

 tint of its leaves and bloom ; "Black Spanish" and " Black Ja- 

 maica," because in certain stages of its growth the fruit is very 

 dark, almost black; and last, " Commercial Pine," because of its 

 fine shipping qualities, which causes it to rank high in a commer- 

 cial point of view. 



This plant fruits sooner than the sugar-loaf, and bears a 

 greater degree of cold without injury, and also grows more thrifty 

 on poor land, but the quality of its fruit is not so good. 



The latter drawback, however, is not considered of much 

 importance in its commercial value, and the Spanish to-day is 

 the favorite pine-apple with the "large" Florida planter. 



SUGAR-LOAF. 



This is a superior fruit, fragrant and delicious in flavor, but 

 inferior in size to the Spanish, and for this reason not so gener- 



