FLORIDA /STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Jensen, or Coquina are in the least 
promising competitors, although deli¬ 
cious eating. 
The qualifications for a first class 
canning pine are close texture, tender 
flesh, good flavor, four or five pounds 
weight, and barrel shaped with shallow 
pits that there may not be too much waste 
in peeling and sizing. 
The crop is produced generally 
without fertilizing. 
Our soil is heavy, containing so much 
iron that it acts like clay, except that 
it is fairly porous when not puddled. 
The Department of Agriculture some 
years ago remarked that if the sample 
submitted was a pineapple soil, it was a 
most unique one. 
The temperature changes here are 
inside of from 50 to 85 degrees F., and 
there are no sudden changes. The rain¬ 
fall averages about 80 inches a year. 
Much ditching needs to be done as 
pines are intolerant of wet feet. I am 
ridging the rows on my more level 
lands now, but cannot say with what 
success. Pines grow best in warm 
weather, dry soil, with heavy dews and 
light showers. A great deal of culti¬ 
vation is necessary here. Our cultiva¬ 
tion is by horse sweeps as long as possible, 
and by scuffle hoe all the time. I cul¬ 
tivate once in ten days when I can. 
During the harvest and planting season 
everything is neglected except the 
pressing business in hand, so that for 
four months cultivation suffers. 
We use Jap. labor. Some of it is 
remarkably good on routine jobs. The 
Jap. has a temperament that makes 
him move on just as he gets really val¬ 
11 7 
uable. He likes new ventures even 
when he loses on it. So it is a heart¬ 
breaking job to teach scientific meth¬ 
ods. The men are all able to read and 
write their own language. The Jap. 
intelligence has been greatly overesti¬ 
mated in the United States. I pay 
$22.50 a month with house and fire¬ 
wood, and give a bonus at the end of 
the year which is likely to bring the 
wage up to $28.00. The bonus is to 
hold the labor if possible and keep the 
interest up. It is based on net profit 
and the days worked. The average 
Jap. likes to work but three weeks a 
month. I am usually short handed. 
You see I do not have cheap labor. 
The ton cost is $9.00 to $12.00 and the 
cannery pays $16.00. 
The preparation of the ground is not 
easy, guava and boulders are stubborn 
things, and the soil is difficult to fit. 
We aim to give about three plowings, 
ten inches deep, and many harrowings. 
Planting is done in the very loosest 
soil condition possible. This fitting ex¬ 
tends over months for the purpose of 
sweeting the soil, and of killing out 
the Thielaviopsis. This rot is our 
greatest trouble in both plant and fruit. 
Luckily direct sunlight quickly kills it. 
We plant with success from March 
to October 30th, but the best results 
come from April to September plant¬ 
ing. Most of the planting has to be 
done, however, in September and Oct¬ 
ober. 
We get a crop in from 12 to 24 
months, depending on the season of 
planting and the sort of plant used. 
Shoots produce the soonest, then slips, 
