FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
35 
Pineapples. 
The Committee on Tropical Fruits presenting no report when 
this topic was reached, the President said : 
This afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Thomas 
E. Richards of Eden, called the “Pineapple King of Florida.” 
No doubt the society would lik*? to hear from him. 
Mr. Richards —I suppose 1 am appointed to represent the 
poor “king.” 1 was not brought up to make speeches. Four¬ 
teen years ago I came from Little Jersey to the Indian River 
country and went to growing pines. I have made consider¬ 
able success at it. Unlike tiie Niagara grape growers we do 
get some returns from our fruit. I have been growing pine¬ 
apples for fourteen years, and I think it is a better industry 
to-day than it was fourteen years ago, and the prospects are 
that it will continue to be better. We have been handicapped 
by lack of proper transportation. Our fruit would break 
down in transit, but at the present time we have very good 
facilities for shipping, and we can let our fruit get thor¬ 
oughly ripe before shipping to New York and the eastern 
markets. We get better prices than formerly. I think there 
is room for others in the industry. If } r ou are going to give 
up grapes come down and try pineapples. 
The President —There are a good many of us who want 
pineapples, not particularly to compete with your market, but 
for home market. 
Mr. Richards —In that case I think the best way would be 
to send down our way for them. It is quite a story to tell 
the whole mode of cultivation of the pine. I do not think I 
would like to take up that much time. 
C. F. A. Bielby —Mr. Richards, this is just what we all 
want to know. 
Mr. Richards —You will find that you cannot plant the 
pineapple where there is any frost, yet we do not claim to be 
below the frost line. Poor scrub land with plenty of spruce 
pine on it is good enough for pineapple growing. That is the 
kind of land our fruit is planted upon principally. 
H. S. Williams— Tell us something about the varieties you 
are growing. 
Mr. Richards— We plant the Spanish pine, the Strawberry 
