178  Pineapple  Cultivation.  {AVa0rch,i8h95rm' 
under  cover,  the  flowering,  and  hence  the  fruiting  of  the  plant,  can  be  to  some 
extent  controlled.  There  is  hardly  a  month  in  the  year  when  ripe  apples 
cannot  be  picked  from  the  covered  pineries.  Grounds  bordering  lakes  are 
favorite  pinery  sites.  The  plant  requires  frequent  fertilizing  to  insure  good  and 
large  fruit.  Cotton  seed  meal  is  considered  one  of  the  best  fertilizers  for  pine- 
apple plants. 
A  few  facts  concerning  the  pineapple  plant  botanically  considered  may  add 
interest  to  this  article.  Not  many  years  ago  many  people  who  had  not  studied 
the  subject  thought  that  it  was  a  parasite  growing  on  pine  trees,  and  that  the 
fruit  was  grown  in  its  aerial  position.  This  idea  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  fruit  resembles  the  pine  cone  (it  was  so  named  from  this  resem- 
blance), that  the  pineapple  belongs  to  the  botanical  family,  Bromillaceae,  of 
which  the  long  moss  is  a  member,  and  that  botanists  say  that  all  plants  of  this 
family  are  capable  of  "living  on  air  alone."  The  pineapple  plant  has  long, 
serrated,  sharp-pointed  rigid  leaves,  springing  from  the  root  of  the  plant,  and 
from  the  centre  of  the  leaf  cluster  a  short  flower  stalk  growth,  bearing  a  single 
spike  of  flowers  and  a  single  fruit.  In  the  development  of  the  fruit  each  flower 
and  the  bract  accompanying  it  become  thickened  and  fleshy,  and  this  causes 
a  crowding  or  growing  together  of  the  mass  forming  a  single  fruit  covered  with 
berry-like  projections — the  withered  tips  of  the  remaining  petals.  It  is  these 
petal  tips  that  give  the  fruit  the  appearance  of  being  covered  with  eyes.  The 
plant  grows  to  the  height  of  from  three  to  five  feet. 
CAIXIUM  PHOSPHOGIvYCERATK. 
This  compound  has  attracted  considerable  attention  in  France  ;  a  formula 
for  its  preparation  was  given  in  this  journal,  1894,  p.  383. 
A  number  of  forms  for  its  administration  have  been  suggested,  of  which 
the  following  appear  to  have  the  preference  : 
Solution  of  Calcium  Phosphogly cerate. 
Calcium  phosphoglycerate   10  grammes. 
Distilled  water  sufficient  to  make  . .   1,000  cc. 
Dissolve  and  filter. 
The  solution  is  not  entirely  clear,  but  may  be  made  so  by  the  addition  of 
a  trace  of  citric  acid. 
Syrup  of  Calcium  Phosphoglycerate. 
Calcium  phosphoglycerate   10  grammes. 
Citric  acid   1  gramme. 
Granulated  sugar   610  grammes. 
Water   340  " 
The  salt  and  acid  are  dissolved  in  the  water,  the  sugar  is  added  and  dis- 
solved without  heat;  the  product  weighs  about  950  grammes,  which  may  be 
brought  to  the  weight  of  1,000  grammes  by  the  addition  of  syrup  of  orange. 
