Pineapple Picking, A Vacation 
Mrs. P. H. Rolfs. 
Our President has said that the most 
certain way to keep a member of this so¬ 
ciety from attending a session is to place 
his name on the program. Now, if he 
expected that to prevent my attendance 
at a meeting of the Florida State Horti¬ 
cultural Society, he was mistaken. I may 
not tell you how to grow a crop of pine¬ 
apples, but I can tell you how a woman 
can spend a pleasant and profitable vaca¬ 
tion by caring for the crop after it has 
been grown and is ready to be shipped. 
In the index to Reports of Volume V 
to XXI, inclusive, of this society, pub¬ 
lished in Report for 1909, we find 120 
references to pineapples. References will 
be found on almost every conceivable 
topic connected with the industry. In 
1911 the writer gave over twenty-five 
methods of preparing the fruit for table 
use. In Bulletin 140, Bureau of Plant In¬ 
dustry, of the United States Department 
of Agriculture, we find a good resume of 
the history of the pineapple. 
We have been told that spruce pine 
land is most largely used for pineapple 
growing; that this land should be well 
cleared, and the soil put into good condi¬ 
tion before the slips are planted. We 
have also been told how to plant slips, 
how to fertilize and cultivate, and when 
the crop is grown, when and how to 
break the fruit, transfer it to the pack¬ 
ing house, size, wrap, pack and ship it. 
Since so much has been written and put 
into published form, it seems unnecessa¬ 
ry to repeat or review these papers. 
Hence, I venture to introduce a new top¬ 
ic by recommending pineapple packing as 
a unique method of spending a vacation. 
The shipping season extends from May 
to July, and comes at a time of the year 
when most of us, after the strenuous life 
of winter, are eager to have our family 
physician prescribe a change of climate or 
occupation. Most of you know the de¬ 
lights and disappointments of vacation, 
as the average person know them. Few, 
I venture to assert, know the pleasure of 
a vacation spent in a pineapple packing 
shed. 
HOW I BEGAN THE WORK. 
In the spring of 1903 my husband 
went to Mexico, expecting to return to 
Forida before the pines were ready to 
ship. The warm spring, however, has¬ 
tened the maturity of the crop. The 
coloring at the base of the fruit and part¬ 
ing of segments indicated that it should 
go forward. I asked the advice of an 
extensive grower, who advised me to 
ship. I ordered wraps and crates and be¬ 
gan shipping with such success that I 
have continued each summer to pack and 
ship our fruit, and what I have done oth- 
