ilen and chickens pines with a number of small fruits surround- 
ing the big central one, which is yellow ami 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 pulled 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 they 
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. Harvey and 
arrived in the best condition. I 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 lix 
the plant in the ground. 
Slips or suckers from the base ot 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 soil is usually very poor, especially in potash 
