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SU."S. DEPARTMENT
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OF AGRICULTURE


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FARMERS' BULLETIN No. .40.












PINEAPPLE GRE WING.

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P.. ETER H. ROLFS,'
PATHOLOGIST, IN CHARGE OF TROPICAL LABORATORY,
VEGETABLEE PATHOLOGICAL. AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, :.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.


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F


LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.


UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY,
Washington, D. 6., August 1, 1901. .
SIR: I transmit herewith, and recommend for publication, the man-
uscript for a Farmers' Bulletin on Pineapple Culture, written by
P. H. Rolfs, pathologist in charge of the tropical laboratory of veg-
etable pathological and physiological investigations of this Bureau.
Respectfully,
B. T. GALLOWAY,
Cht.kf rT' Buratu.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,
!,.c&retaryl f Agriculture. c






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CONTENTS.


Page.
Introduction....------... -----....--.--------.. .........---------------. 5
Importance of the fruit ..-------------..............-------------- 5
The area...-- --------- ------......--...... -------------.. '5
Terms used on pineapple plantations ........-- .... ......---------------. 6
The pineapple family...-----...---...-...---....-------................--------...---------.......-------- 7
on --------n------------------------------------------------ 7
arises -- -..--........-------..-...............................---------------- 7
agarieties -----------.--.--..............--..--..-.....---------------...--------- 8
Description of 18 varieties-----...--------.........------------------... 8
Lines of improvement ..---..------.----.. ------.....------ -------------. 10
Climate ....------------..------.. -----................-------- ----..---- 11
Soil ,..--..... ....--- -.. .................-------------.. 11
Florida mainland .............-------.-----...-............--........---------.----------- 12
Spruce pine as an index...-----------................------..-------------.....---. 14
The Keys--------..........------ ...- ..--------------------- .-- 14
Porto Rico ---.--------------------..................--- ---- ------ 14
Hawaii..----- --..........----------- -- --................ -- ------ 14
Philippines -------........................----------------------------------- 15
Gathering ..------. ----... -..--..- ..---.----- ------...------------------ 15
Selecting .......----------- ---------------------------------- 15
Careinhandling----------------------- --------- ----------16
Care i handling ...------------------------------------------- 16
Grading ---------------......................---------------------------- 16
Wrapping ...........-------------.............---------------------------------- 16
Pakin .........--..---..-...........................------------------------------------ 17
Ses-----............................---------------------------------------- 17
S hes ------------ -- -- 17
Shippin c-------- ---------------------------------- 18

InBy express---- .-...-...................------------------------------------------ 19
In brage .. ---..........-----.--..--------------------------- ... 19
y ere ....... --..------------------------- ---- --------------------- 19
Co A esto ri ----.....---...-.. ------------------------------- --. 201
In Europe .............................--------------------------------.....-..----. 20
Markets --------.------------------------------------------------------- 19
In c mericas .---------..-----------.--. ----------------------------- 20
In Europe g.-------------------.------------.------- ------------ 20
PricesA-----*ni....-.--------------------------------- --------------------- 20
Cost of acre ..... ....--......---------- ----------------------------------- 20
Starting without capital.......-------------------- ..------------------------ 21
Fertilizers ........----- --------------------------------------- 22
Commercial fertilizers .........----...--- ..-----.......--.-------------. 23
Time of applying-...---.... -------.-----.. --------------------- 23
Ammonia--.---....--...----.......-------------------------------- 24
Cotton-seed meal..........--- .............-- -- ....--------------- 24
Dried blood-----..--....-------...........-------------------------------..... 24
Blood and bone ..- ......-------..-.. ....----------..------------- 24
Nitrate of soda ...-......... ..................................--... 25
Sulphate of ammonia --..--... -..........-..--.......------------- 25
Potash----------------------------------------------------------- 25
Kainit ------------------------------------------------------- 25
Carbonate of potash ------------------------------------------- 26
Low-grade sulphate of potash ----------------------------------- 26
High-grade sulphate of potash...........--..----------------------------- 2
Kainit........................................................... 25
Carbonate of potash ................................. ........... 26
Low-grade sulphate-of potash ..................................... 26
High-grade sulphate of potash ................................. ... 26
Muriate of potash .----....--... ......-----........----------------- 26
Ashes ..................-----.. .....----------------------------- 26
3










Fertilizers-Continued. Page.
Phosphoric acid ..................................................... 26
Bone meal ................................................------ 27
Acid phosphate ..---............------...------------------------- 27
Other sources ............-...-.........---..-------------------- 27
Remarks on commercial fertilizers ............-----------....... .-------- 27
Who shall mix fertilizer ..............-...... ..---------------- ------- 28
Fertilizer formula ..................................---------------------- 28
Amounts of different fertilizers.--................... ..-------. -------- 29
Home-made fertilizers ...........-- .....----------------------------- 29
Mulching .... ......-....... ......................----------------------- 30
The land.............-- ..... .......................----------------------- 30
Clearing .---....--.. ...------....------...----..--------------------- 30
On the Keys..-..................----------- --------------------- 31
Laying off the land .....---.........-............-------------------------- 31
Planting .......--...--- ..--.......... .....------------------------------ 32
Time of planting......-................................--- -----... 33
6iltivation -........-................-..-...--...----- ------------------. 34
Avoid breaking the leaves....--................---------------------- 34
Irrigation...--..---....................-..........-------------.--------- 34
Canning ................ ... ............................. -- ... ..---...... 35
For general market- ....-......................----------------- 35
For home use.............t---..--...-.. --...-------------------. 36
For flavoring .--.....---..--.......---------------- ----------... 36
For medicinal purposes......-.............--------..... ----------- 36
To prepare for table use .....................-.......-... ...-.----------- 36
Sliced.....................---------..-------------------------- 37
Dug out .......---------.............----------------------------------- 37
Shredded......- ...-..-....---- --------------------------- 37
To flavor other fruit..--....-- ........------.--------------------- 37
Diseases, insects, and injuries ..........--.......--------------------------- 37
Blight; wilts-..-....-....................-- -- .----------------------- 38
Fruit mold...............---...-...--.... -------------------------- 39
Mealy bugs .............---------- --------------------------- 39
Red spider (Stigmaeus floridanu Bks.)........-- ..-- .....------- ..------ 39
Pineapple scale ........... ..-------------------------------------- 40
Spike; longleaf .........--- .....-------------.----------------------- 40
Sanding ................. ...-------------------------- 41
Ift -s------------------------------
Ripley spike; going blind..----..-....--.....--------.---------------------- 42
Tangleroot..-.............----..----------------------------------- 42
Blackheart ...............--------------......------------------------------- 42
Pineapple sheds.......-------........- -------------------------------- 43
SCost of shed---.............---..- --------------------------------- 44
Trees for shade ........... ..........-------------------------------- 45
By-products ........-....... .--..---. .. ..----------------------- ------- 46
Marmalade ......---.........--- --------------------------------- 46
SPineapple fiber................................................ -------------47





ILLUSTRATIONS.



Fig. 1.-a. Pineapple sucker, trimmed ready to set-..............-......-... 33
b. Base of properly trimmed sucker........................----------. 33
2.-The base of a pineapple leaf, showing the effect of red spider's work. 40
3.-Tangleroot.......---------------.- ------------------------- 43
4.-Pineapple shed built of boards and planks, showing road at left,
ways in foreground running at right-angles to road............... 44














PINEAPPLE GROWING.


INTRODUCTION.
SThe aim of this bulletin is to give a concise statement of the general
operations connected with the production of pineapples in the field
and on a large scale. The literature on this subject is limited and
scattered through a score or more publications, thus putting it out of
the reach of the man engaged in growing pineapples in the field.
A few pages of this bulletin are devoted to diseases, canning, and
similar closely related topics.
No attempt is made to give information in regard to the growing of
pineapples in glasshouses. Such information would be of little value
to the people who grow this crop out-of-doors, as the method is so
radically different that it should have a separate treatise.
Importance of the fruit.-The flavor of the pineapple is so agreeable
that no one has to acquire a taste for it.
The time at which the main crop in the United States ripens has
something to do with its popularity, as it comes into the market after
the strawberry has become somewhat common and before the main
shipping season for peaches. There are pineapples on the market the
entire year, but those sold at other times than during the main-crop
season are so high priced that the average man can not afford this
luxury. The main shipping season is from the middle of April to the
middle of July.
The area.-A considerable area in the United States is adapted to the
cultivation of this fruit, and with the increased demand for it there
can be no doubt that this will be greatly extended. The State of
Florida doubtless contains the largest tract of pineapple land in one
body. Southern California has some land that will produce pineapples
profitably. All of Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands are free from
frost, but the soil and climate are not uniformly adapted to the pro-
duction of this crop. In the Philippines there is more land adapted
to the production of pineapples than will be utilized for several gen-
erations. Mr. H. J. Webber estimated that Florida produced 3,000,000
pineapples in 1895, and the production has increased largely since that
time. The Hawaiian Islands exported $14,423.17 worth of this fruit
in 1897, according to the statement of Mr. Walter Maxwell. Much of
this fruit was sent to California








Porto Rico, the Bahama Islands, Jamaica, San Salvador, and Trini-
dad contribute to the pineapple supply of the United States. Porto
Rico is thought to be especially well adapted for the locating of
canneries.
TERMS-TSED ON, PINEAPPLE PLANTATIONS.
Every industry has terms that are used in a restricted sense, and this
is true to a limited extent in the pineapple industry. The ffoowing
terms are used more or less generally:
Rattooins.-When a bud occurs oni the underground portion of a pine-
apple stem it produces roots by the time it gets to be 12 to 15 inches
high., These make strong, vigorous plants,and are left in the field
undisturbed unless too many occur together.
Suckers.-Plants produced from buds that originate fromna portion
of the stem above ground. These are nourished from the main plant
and are late in producing their own roots if they remain attached to
the parent plant. They are the usual commercial, commodity. In
buying pineapple plants, suckers -are understood- unless otherwise
stated .
Slips.-These are plants that originate from buds produced at the
base of the fruit. There is greativariation as to the number of slips
produced by different varieties and by different specimens of the same
variety. Slips usually remain on the plant after the crop has been
gathered, and often grow to be 8 to 12 inches long by winter. In the
common varieties only the largest slips are used, but in the high-
priced varieties all slips are saved and planted.
Crown slips.-These are plants that originate at the upper end of
the fruit. In some of the varieties, such as the Enville, the crown
is wanting and a tuft of crown slips is produced instead. Crown slips
are utilized only in the high-priced varieties.
Crowns.-The tuft of short leaves at the apex 6f the fruit; wanting
in some varieties, such as the Enville. It takes these a year longer to
mature a crop than it does large suckers, so they are not employed
extensively. "
Pine.-The ordinary abbreviation for pineapple both on the planta-
tion and on the market.
SSanded, or sanding.-Referring to sand being blown into, the buds of
newly set plants, (See diseases, p. 41.):
Spike.-A pathological condition produced by untoward fertilizer
or soil conditions. (See diseases, p. 40.)
Shed.- A structure which produces half shade, used to eq ulize the
extremes of temperature.
Tangleroot.-A condition in which the roots or part of them are
wound tightly around the stem of the plant. (See diseases, p. 42.)
Spruce pine (Pinus Clazsa (Englem.) Sarg.).-A species of pine
restricted to the south Atlantic and east Gulf coast.









THE PINEAPPLE FAMILY.
,: This plant belongs to a very peculiar family, the Bromeliaceae, and
is the most important species in the genus Ananas. In its original dis-
tribution the family was confined to the Western Hemisphere, mainly
.to; South America, though the genus Tillandsia is represented by.a.
number of species in the Southern States. As a whole, the family is
either tropical or subtropical.- The long moss, or Spanish moss (Til-
landsia usneoides L.), is a peculiar plant common along the eastern
Gutlf and south Atlantic coast. This species of the pineapple family
grows abundantly in the moister localities of the above region a4id is
*largely employed in that section for making mattresses and stuffing
furniture. '
This family is characterized by plants of an epiphytic nature; that'
is. those that grow on other plants but do not derive nourishment from
them; but many of the species are terrestTial in their habits.' I
Florida they are frequently spoken of as orchids; doubtless due to the
popular belief that all epiphytes are orchids, which is incorrect. The
pineapple plant is terrestrial but might be looked upon as half epiphyte
in that it will remain alive for months without being in contact with
the soil. In contact with moist, loamy soil it soon sickens and dies.
It takes about four months from the time of blossoming to the
ripening of the pineapple. The main seasonjof blooming is during
January and February, though occasionally plants bloom through the-
entire year, the least number occurring in November and December.
Immediately preceding the bloom a number of bright-colored leaves
are produced as if to announce itsadvent. The blossoms proper occur
in a head springing from the center of the plant. Their color is usu-
ally a purplish blue, though there is some variation even in the same
vai iety. The blossoms though crowded into a head are quite distinct,
each having its own insertion on the central axis. Each blossom is
protected bya bract; The crown does not. develop until later and its
development does not depend upon the bearing of fruit.
The production of seeds in this fruit is rather the exception than
the rule. Some varieties produce more 'seeds than others. While
many of the species of this family have their seeds provided with a
pappus of down for transportation, the pineapple seems to secure its
dissemination.by means of the fleshy edible fruit.

EARLIEST CULTIVATION.
The discovery of the pineapple, as a fruit, was coincident with the
exploration of South America by the Spaniards. As early as the sev-
enteenth century it was cultivated in Holland and in England, but its
use was confined to royalty. Its cultivation in glasshouses did: not
become common in England until the beginning of the eighteenth cen-









tury. It is now grown by all the leading nations, either in glasshouses
or in the open. In many instances it serves as an ornamental plant.
Outdoor cultivation of pineapples in the United States dates back to
186i. According to: Tayloror efforts were m-adeas early as 1850 to
'grow them in Florida, but for some reason they failed.- It. is ndw
known that';'mire' than freedom from frost is required to grow pine-
apples successfully. :
S VARIETIES. '
Different markets require different kinds of fruits; not that dealers
disagree,a to .what constitutes a fine specimen, but that some markets
are able to pay for a first-class fruit while another market can afford
but a lower grade. The cauneries in the large seaport cities, of the
United States can pay only the lowest price, so that they are obliged to
use small fruit, or that from an overstocked market. For shipping to
European markets from the United States, none but the finest fruits
that will stand the voyage should be selected. With the increased
facilities Tor shipping by providing cold storage in transit and in erect-
ing cold-storage plants in the European markets, these markets will be
opened to our finer varieties of fruit in a more perfectly developed
condition., .
For distant American markets which have to be reached by express
.the medium sized fruit-about thirties-of the best shipping vari-
eti-s will be found the most useful. There an'e imany smallercities in
the United States where this fruit has not been in the n,' rket, and such
places will n6t pay a reasonable price for a superior fruit, but will pay
a much higher proportionate price.for a medium sized specim-r -.

-LEADIiNG VARIETIES.
STheinumber of varieties catalogued is not great, approximating one
hundred. Some of these names are synonyms and others: are known
only in glasshouse culture. .The pineapple, not. being propagated from
seed excepting for the purpose of originating new varieties, is a fairly
uniform plant in its varietal limits.
Description' of eighteen varieties.-The following descriptions are
-from the. report of the Florida State Horticultural Society,, 1900
(p. xvii):
(1) ABAKKA, fruit large size, oblong shape, orange-yellow color,.best quality, ripeffs
in midseason, plant :of, moderatevigor and very prolific.
(2) ANTIGUA, BLACK, fruit small size, oblong, shape, color orange yellow, best qual-
ity, ripens in summer, moderately prolific.
(3). ANTIGUA, WEITE, fruit medium size, round shape, yellow color, good quality,
ripens in mid season, a good cropper.
(4) BL.AC JA MAc., fruit medium size, oblong shape, orange-yellow color, goo(
quality, ripens in midseason, a moderate cropper.
'Taylor, Wmi. A., Yearbook U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1897, p. 328.









:(5)) BLACK PRINCE, fruit medium size,, conical shape, orange-yellow color, fine
S quality, ripens in midseason, not prolific nor a vigorous grower.
(6) BLOOD, fruit small size, red-orange color, good quality, ripens in midseason,
vigorous grower and quite prolific.
(7) CROWN PaINis, fruit of medium size, conical shape, orange-yellow color, of
good ciuality, ripens in midseason, moderately rigorous and fairly prolific.
(8) CHARLorrE ROTHSCHILD, medium-sized fruit, conical shape, orange-yellow color,
quality very good, ripening in midseason, vigolous plant andfairly prolific.
(9) EGYPTIAN QUEEN, fruit of medium size, conical shape, yelow color, good qual-
ity, ripening early, a vigorous grower and prolific.
(10) LoRD CARRINGTON, medium-sized fruit, yellow color, conical shape, good qual-
ity, ripening in midseason, moderately vigorous and fairly prolific..
(11) PRINCE ALBERT, large sized fruit, orange-yellow color, fine.quality, ripening in
midseason, a vigorous grower and produces a good crop.
(12) PoRTo Rico, very large fruit, orange-yellow color, variable shape, good quality,
ripening in the early part of the season, produces a very large plant, fairly
prolific.
(13) PERNA.\TBoO, small fruit, of fine quality, fairly vigorous and a heavy cropper.
(14) RED SPANISH, fruit medium-sized to small, form somewhat variable, cone-
shaped, color reddish-yellow, fair quality, ripens early, a vigorous plant and
a prolific cropper.
(15) RiPL-E QL'EEN; medium-sized fruit, conical shape, fie quality, ripens late and
fairly prolific.
(16) SMoOTH CAYENNE, large sized fruit, orange-yellow color- very good quality,
ripens:in midseason,;a vigorous grower and prolific cropper.
(17) SuoGA Loar, samll fruit, yellow color, quality very good, ripenslate, moderately
Vigorous and a fairly prolific cropper.
(18) ENVILLE, medium-sized fruit, orange-yeillw color, fair quality, ripens in mid-
season, moderately vigorous and fairly prolific.
The Red Spanish is undoubtedly the most extensively grown in the
United States and may be considered as the standard variety for field
culture. It is also grown under pineapple sheds, but sheds should be
planted to varieties that produce larger" fruits that sell for ia higher
price, such as the Smooth Cayenne: Pineapples, like other fruits, have
varieties that seem to be better adapted.for particular localities. Some
of the varieties that prove successful under glass are failures when
taken to the fields, while the pineapple shed seems to furnish conditions
midway between the glasshouse-and the open field, and thus proves to
be a suitable place for some of the less robust varieties.
Mr.TWebber, in his study of the effects of freezes on this plant,
makes the following statement.:
Little difference could be observed in the hardiness of the different varieties other
than that due to difference in size. The large plants were usually) the least injured.
This the Porto Rico, the largest variety grown, was probably the least inj ured. The
Abakka and the Red Spanish probably come next in the order of size and consequent
injury, but the difference is very slight.'
As all of our varieties are introduced, we may expect great improve-
mient by way of breeding new varieties especially adapted for special

'Yearbook U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1895, p.-171.
100-49-No. 140-06----2









needs and special localities. By growing the finer varieties under the
sheds and selecting from these the hardier strains,'more perfectly
adapted varieties will be obtained. '
The eighteen varieties listed by the Florida State Horticultural
Society'in 1900 are all of foreign origin. The report says:
The Red Spanish, Porto Rico, Abakka, and Smooth Cayenne are grown most
extensively for market. The Egyptian Queen, Ripley Queen, Blood, Pernambuco,
and Sugar Loaf are grown less extensively. * In the numerous and expen-
sive shedded pineries of Orange County and the West Coast, which are cultivated on
the intensive system, the Smooth Cayenne is planted most extensively.

LINES QF IMPROVEMENT.
With a fruit so nearly perfect it would seem useless to attempt any
improvement, but there are several directions in which there might be
a change for the better. The new environment has laid the species
open to new enemies and to new methods of attack from diseases, but
this will be discussed under the heading of diseases.
--Many of the finer varieties have originated in the glasshouse, and,
having become accustomed to glasshouse conditions, are not profitable
in the open or under sheds. Such varieties need to be changed.by
selection or crossing until they will become productive in the open.
This can be brought about only by patient work and careful attention
to breeding. Much of this work has already received thought and
careful attention from this Department.
In the case of the Red Spanish the line of improvement will be in
securing larger fruits and a better quality. The general method
adopted for setting out fields is not conducive to the production of
the best strains of a variety. As a rule the prospective planter buys
the plants by the thousand, either delivered or at the railway station.
The man who sells these plants is interested only in keeping his field
properly stocked with plants and then to deliver them at the least
expense to himself. This method of selecting gives the advantage to
specimens that bear a small fruit or none, because the plant being less
exhausted by bearing a small fruit is able to produce more suckers
and of a larger size than the plant that has been reduced in vigor by
bearing a large fruit. Thus, in a measure, have the pineapple growers
been selecting from the inferior plants and starting their new fields
from them. Since the demand for plants of this variety has been
practically supplied, there is an opportunity to improve it by judicious
selection.
The use of the proper fertilizer ingredients will likewise do much
to improve not only the appearance of the fruit but also the taste.
Some of the varieties produce an abundant crop, but the fruits are
either so small, or so uneven in size, that a great deal of care is needed
to grade the crop properly, and even then much of it has to be thrown
out because it is too small to pay to ship, and .becomes a total loss.









One of the causes for this has been indicated in the above sugges-
tion regarding the improper. selecting of: plants. Again, it nay be
due to; carelessness in fertilizing. When it is due to unfavorable
weather there is some difficulty in remedying the matter. .
There is room for improvement in the quality of most. of the varie-
ties. In many of the fruits of the more hardy varieties the central
stem is large,-leaving considerable waste. This in itself is not so bad,
but it is usually accompanied with a coarse fleshy portion which char-
acterizes the inferior pineapple. The best remedy for this is to dis-
card all plants producing such fruits..

CLIMATE.
To the general observer it may seem that a climate whose temupera-
ture never reaches the freezing point is all that is necessary to pro-
duce pineapples, but when the matter is studied more closely it is
found that it requires more than temperature to produce pineapples.
A matured leaf will lie upon a table in a dwelling for two months
without decaying or drying up, but it. will rot in less than two weeks
if it be placed in an atmosphere saturated with moisture. Pineapple
plants may be shipped from the Hawaiian Islands to Florida if they be
kept dry.,. This fact merely indicates that. the healthy pineapple plant
does not suffer seriously from ordinary.dry weather.. It is one of the
class of plants that prefers an alternating dry and wet season.
The culture of this crop should not be attempted in a latitude Tvbere
winter frosts occur unless one is prepared to provide the proper pir-
tection. All of the region in Florida north of Palm Beach and Fort
Meade are subject to occasional winter freezes which cause' great
losses to the pineapple growers unless their fields are protected by
some artificial means. In this region there are some favored localities
that did not suffer during the recent severe freezes.
Neither does the pineapple flourish in the extremely hot portions
of the globe. Its largest acreage is confined to the islands or to the
seacoast.
S The best pineapple region in the world has a mean teiperatlre of from 75 to
;80. Key West, off the coast of Florida, has a mean annual temperature of about
76"; Jupiter, in the midst of the pineapple region, about 73'. The mean annual
temperature in a large part of the pineapple section of Florida is thus comparatively
low.'


The proper selection of soil for pineapples is.the most important
problem in connection with their culture. The requirements of this
plant in this respect are so different from the ordinary fruits that it
took many experiments to convince the would-be pineapple'grower
I Webber, H. J., Yearbook U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1695, p. 373.








12

that he has here a plant that demands a soil utterly intolerable to the
ordinary crops of vegetables. This crop can be grown:upon land that
will produce ordinary vegetables, but the soil must be of a loose and
open nature and not allowed to become water-soaked. It is not the
fertility nor the humus in the soil that is detrimental to the pineapple,
but, it is the want of free drainage.
The soil prepared by the gardeners who grow this crop under glass
illustrates this point. Their standard formula is about as follows:
Two parts decomposed fibrous loam, one part well-decayed manure,
another part one-half inch bones and pounded oyster shells. From
this it is seen that even where the control over temperature and
moisture is the most perfect the texture of the favorite soil is open
and decidedly loose. The directions for watering are fully as inter-
esting: Moderately in winter and freely in summer."
Florida mainland.-The soil of the Florida mainland will be consid-
ered first, as it is more thoroughly understood than that of any other
region. The following tables of i'ue chemical analysis' of some typical
Florida pineapple soils are exceedingly interesting, especially so from
the fact that they show the soils deficient in every constituent that is
thought to be a necessary element of plant food:

TABLE No. 1.-Chemical analiis ro prieappl eodr, Brevard County.

Type of s.il. Field Pa h S Pametto Yelow sl. White ,oU. en
8a.r.s-rob. ub -o-l.
SSoil Sol1 Soil SubEoil Soil uibs,:il SUi Subnr.il ISutS oil
Station number ........... 12 13 21 22 39 4' 11 35
Coarse earth............... 21.00 24.90 3.20 4.0 11.40 7.90 12.20 5 *.' 11.70
Fineearih................. 7.00) 7.5.10 96.80 96.00 88.60 9. 10 7.)0 91.80 89.20
Bumus ................... 2 .21 .71 .02 .18 .02 .16 .01 12
N'troagn ................... 137 .0(r2 .072 .0121i .0182 .000 0042 .01 .000
Moiarure at l C ........... .4000 .204 .4Mi .31 i 1820 10u 40-L) OO J 26 .


FINE EARTH.
Insoluble residue...........
Potash (K:Oi..............
Boda (NaO )................
Lime (CaOi ................
Magnesia i'MgO) ..........
Ferric cidd ( Fe-(.O) ........
Alimina (AI~CO) .......
Pbopphorus pinljxidtP .O )
Chion ...................
Sulpbur riosxid itOi)......
Carbon dioxid (CO, .......
Waterand organic matter.


97. 05 %5.2100 92. 635 862.&'0 97.'2875 7. .4 5 95.64B1 99. _4K 98. ^40
.00t. .0111 .0612 .05M4 Trace. ('77 .0.31 .0c'48 Trace.
.0510 128 .1911 .21 .16 .09 .6 0714 .0344 .076L
.210() .10?5 2 2325 7. 52)50 .0100 .0000 .uOUO .0000 .W00(
.02-a .0099 .027 Trace. .0Ouu .0i1 .0:34 .00S .0243
.2315 .1312I .61, .125 W.n .h &;t)' .1470 .31S0 .775j
.U lG; .U0 6 1 ** 7'146 .4011 .132 ..3 .3'63
.0336 .0192 0544 .OG72 .0116 '637 Trace. .0 10 .0112
Sra(-. Truce. .00W6 Trace Trace. Trace. Trace. Trace. Trace.
.014b .0103 Trace. Trace Trace. .0060 Trace Trace. Trace.
.0(0 .00u. 1.600 b.'2t .0l .0O .Ort .i (0(l 0l .(H00
1 7990 1.3127 2.8461 3.5500 1. 6(0 A(W0 .7060 .160 6250


Total ................. 100.000 u00.000; 00 100. OO 001K 100. 18.1 99. 9810 99. s j2 100.078 o100.1064


Table No. 2 compares the Florida soil with Hilgard's average. Dr.
Hilgard obtained this average by combining 466 analyses of soils from
the humid portion of the United States. He came to the conclusion
that. a soil which contains less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of either
lime, potash, or phosphoric acid may be regarded as deficient in that
particular substance. Referring to Table No. 2, it is seen that the

S ; ':'Persons, A. A., Bul. 43, Fla. Agr. ExL. Sta., p. 664







13

Florida pineapple soil is deficient in all the necessary elements- except'
*lime, and Table No. 1 shows that it is deficient in this element in the
favorite 'class of soil (yellow soil).

T.i~Bn No. 2.-Comparison of Floreda soils r;ith Hilgard's averages.

HBlgird's Florida pineapple 6i;li
Substance. average ofi --
u 1. Soils. Submils. Meanofall.
Prer cnt. Pcr ce.t. Per cent. Per c ant.,
Potash .............................................. 0.216 0.016 [ 0.0230 0.0199 ,
Lime ..................................... ............. .510 2.b03 1.5131
Phospbonr: acid ............ .......................... .l1 .0298 .049i .0393
Magnesiw ....................................... ... 5 251 .0 2 .0296
Nicrr:gen .............................................. ............ 019 .012 .0181

Table No. 3 gives the averages of the mechanical analyse of pine-
apple soils. The most striking peculiarity is the small amount of
- moisture and organic matter present. The small amount of moisture
'is doubtless dte to the small amount of silt, fine silt, and clay con-
tained in these soils.

STAiLE No. 3.-Mechanical analysis of soils arid sulz.o;l. (a)

WREL Palm Beach Rocklcdee spruce-
pineapple land. pine scruD.
Substance. S i ubi.il abiweil
S. OLI ( U i6 to >36 I$ .n oe t '6
6 inene, inches, 6 WCe-, iLrh6e
depuhof).depho.) depubo, 0.depo.

Moi-ture in air dried sample................................. 0.15 0.07 0.15 0.25
Organic manner ............................................... 1.21 .31 1.06 .45
Grarel (2-l mm.)....... .................................... .23 .06 .65 .66
Coarsesand il-0.mm.i....................................... 8.02 3.08 12.36 .9.07
Medium sand 10 5-0 25 mm. .................................. 61.11 57.50 41:42 32.58
Fine sand t0.25-0.1 mm.).................................... 33.76 37.78 -1.18 52.13
Ver ine sand (0 1-0.06 mm.).............................. .. 54 .59 2.40 3.26
Silt 0.05-0.1mm.)... .................................... .22 .07 .16 .23
FinesiIt (0.01-0. 5) mm.).................................... .06 .13 .06 .18
Clay (0.00uMt'.i0 mni ...................................... 0 .52 .35 .51

aDiyJion f Soils, U.S. Dept. of Agr., Bul. 13, p. 2a. (Averages.)

SHow it is that pineapple plants can grow and produce a crop on a
,soil that seems to be so deficient in the chemical constituents that are
necessary for plant growth has not been explained satisfactorily. It
is true that heavy applications,,of the necessary elements of plant
food-potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen-are made annually to
maintain the productiveness of the fields, but the quantities added in,
the form of fertilizers would not amount to.more than the chemists'
"trace" when compared with the soil in which the plants grow; that
is, the amount of these elements of plant food added in the form of
fertilizers is so small comparatively that the chemist would not esti-
mate it in the analysis of the soil to which it might have been added.
That this plait should need a soil of such mechanical analysis as is
shown by Table 3 is not so surprising when it is remembered that it








belongs to a family a large per cent, of whose members are epiphytes,
i. e., grow upon other plants but. do not draw nourishment from them.
Spruce pine as an index.-The inclination of the earliest pineapple
growers on the mainland of Florida was to experiment with pines on
the low islands east. of the Indian River, which were thought to resem-
ble the Keys more closely than the mainland. As they produced
excellent oranges and large crops of vegetables, it. was but natural
to -consider them a proper place to grow all crops for profit. After
numerous failures on the islands it was discovered, almost by accident,
that. the spruce pine land on the Indian River contained the soil best
adapted to the growth of this fruit.
--The land with a yellow subsoil and covered with spruce pine mixed
with a fair sprinkling of hardwood. such as hickory and scrub oak, is
considered as made up of the ideal soil. In the interior of the State,
where more careful attention is, pid to the matter of irrigation and
drainage, ordinary high longleaf pine land is used with good results.
On soil with a hardpan subsoil it is necessary to bed the land up so as
to insure prompt drainage during rainy weather. Any soilfor condi-
tion that will hold water around the roots of the pineapple plant is
certain to end in diseased fields and cause disappointment.
The Keys.-These are islands near the coast of southern Florida.
They have a low altitude, often rising only a few feet above high-
tide limits. They have a coralline foundation, making a rather
Sporous substratun. Some of these Keys have large areas that are
nearly ideal as a pineapple habitat. ,The proximity to water keeps
down the high temperature in summer and their nearness to the trade
winds induces a dry winter. Inmany cases soil, in the ordinary sense,
can not be said, to exist. In some instances the pineapple planter is
obliged to choose the spot that has enough decayed vegetable matter
to hold the plant in place on the coralline rock. The greater part, or
nearly all, of the plant food is located in the small quantity of decaying
vegetable matter; consequently it is soon exhausted. The question as
to the best method of making these exhausted fields again productive
has not been determined. The method usually followed is to abandon
the worn-out field and clear new one, but as nearly all of the available
land has been cropped or is under cultivation it will be necessary to
find some way of making these abandoned fields again productive.
Porto Rico.-The largest variety grown in the United States and
Porto Rico originated in the Porto Rican islands, where a large por-
tion of the soil is suited to its growth. According to Dr. S. A. Knapp,
in his Report on the Agricultural Resources and Capabilities of
Porto Rico. 1901 (p. 23), this fruit may be grown in all parts of this
territory. The fertility of the soil will enable planters to grow pine-
apples there for an indefinite time without exhausting its resources.
Hawaii.- "In these islands the soil and climate seem to be as nearly
right as could well be expected." According to. Dr. William C.








Stubbs, it is "extensively cultivated, nearly every small farmer having
a patch." 1- It is alsoreported that the plants have escaped from culti-
vation and are growing wild. The fact that plants may be shipped
from the Sandwich Islands to Florida and sell for less than the home-
grown ones illustrates the fertility of the soil and the suitableness of
the climate.
- Philippines.-" In -Niihu and the Philippine Islands,. where pine-
apples succeed well, the soil is disintegrated lava covered with a layer
of humus. There is but little cohesion in such soils, particularly
when, as in this case, they contain considerable lime. When clay is
present it is said to be important that. it should not be so abundant as
to hinder root penetration or to hold the soil- water, but a certain
amount to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil is apparently
very desirable."2
To be successful in growing this crop it is necessary to be thor-
oughly acquainted with the needs of each individual field. Thisinfor-
mation can be obtained only by continued experience on the particular
fields. In all sections there are spots in the fields that are liable to
peculiar diseases, elevations that suffer during long droughts, or
depressions that hold water too long during rainy weather. There
are also variations due to gradations in the composition of the soil.
GATHERING.
It is not an. unusual experience for the agriculturist to do all that is
necessary to bring a crop to excellent.maturity and lose it all or in part
for the want of proper handling at the time of gathering. In:no line
of work is it, more necessary to pay the closest attention to details in
gathering than in growing tropical fruits. This operation is the one
most directly under control, and yet it is the one most liable to be
slighted. I:t is the operation in ihvich judgment plays the most
important part. It can not be learned except by experience.: ._ :
-Selecting.-The fruit should be dry when gathered. The first actin
gathering is to select the fruits thought to be ripe enough to reach the
market inw the best condition; This is done by a laborer undei, the
direct supervision.of some responsible person who from time to time
instructs him as to whether to select more mature or less mature
specimens. The degree of maturity will depend upon the market to
which the product is to be shipped and to the manner of shipping,
whether by express, freight, orby water. In the summer, if the fruit
is to go forward as freight it is selected when it is just turning." If
it is to go by water it is selected a little less mature, and if by express
the fruit may be permitted to become quite well colored." The mat-
ter of selecting depends so much oh judgment that no fast rule can
SBul. 95, Office Experiment Stations, p. 39.
2 Webber, H. J., Yearbook U S. Department of kAgicultiire, 1S95, p. 273.









"be laid down. The distance from the market, the condition of the
weather, and the variety planted are all factors which must be:
considered.
Care in handling.-Handling begins when the laborer has seized the
fruit to be broken, and ends, so far as the grower is concerned, when
the fruit is on the railway platform or on the steamboat. dock. The
laborer who: goes among the fruit is usually provided with a pair of
leggings that reach above the knees and a pair of mittens made of
canvas.. .. . .. .
He seizes the pineapple usually in both hands, and gives it a slight
twisting-bend to cause the stem to snap off a half inch or so below the
fruit "Breaking pines requires skill and attention. If the stem be
broken off too near to the fruit it is apt to rot in transit, ad if the
stem is broken too long it has to be broken again at the shed at a loss
of considerable time. Only the more intelligent and better laborers
are sent into the land to break or to cut pines. After breaking, the
pineapples are tossed to a laborer standing in the pathway between
the beds, who catches them and lays them down carefully. From this
place they are collected in large baskets or in field crates and hauled
to the packing shed.
In gathering sbme of: the fancy varieties the stems are cut several
inches long, the fruit taken to the packing house, and the stem cut
off even with the fruit. In some cases the cut ends of- stems are cov-
ered with paratfl n wax to prevent, as much as possible, evaporation and
the loss of.flavor.: Under proper conditions it pays to take all of these
precautions, but for the ordinary fruit the advantage gained would
Anot be worth the time consumed.
Grading.-At the packing house the fruit is sized and sorted.- Under
ordinary circumstances there are only two grade", 'fruits and culls.
It sometimes happens that the pineapple grower. has three grades 6n
hand besides; the culls-ripes, greens, and mediums. The first, grade
must be packed and sent out as soon as possible, either by express or
to some near-by market. The mediums allow more choice of method
of shipping and of market. The greens may be kept in the packing-
house: until they have ripened fo a suitable degree, oi they may be
shipped by freight to the most distant market ordinarily supplied.
In sizing, the fruit is known by the number it. requires to fill a half-
barrel crate, viz: 18's, 24's, 30's, 36's, 42's, 48's, and 54's. The last-
named-size is not crated unless the crop is very short. There is no
machine which can be used to determine the sizes, so this has to be done
by -guessing the grade to which the particular fruit belongs. The
laborer who does the sizing soon becomes expert at the practice, so the
wrappers find no great difficulty in packing the fruit.
Wrapping.-Pineapples thatareshipped in crates are usually wrapped
in some kind of paper, the grade varying with the taste of the grower








and th.b qualityof the fruit shipped. Red Spanish are usually wrapped
in ordinary brown straw paper, fine smooth Cayennes and Queens in a
number of thickness. of finer paper, and some are wrapped intissue
piper` staiuped with the plantation name.:, It is quite important, to
wrap pineapples to keep them from breaking the skin? of one another
in transit.. In addition to lessening-the danger of breaking the skin
the wrapping protects them from wilting and from- dust while being
shipped and'carted.." Pineapples sell largely upon their looks.
Packing..-The sizes of packages adopted by the Florida growers
are the barrel and half-barrel crates. The former is 12 byO 20 by.36
inches; the latter, 12 by 10 by 36inches. The:latter size seems to be
'the one in most general use. : This is uhdoubtedly'the more coiveenint
size, as the unit of this size holds about. as much fruit'as the- odiiiry
fruit dealer or grocer wishes to have on handd at onetiime; and it'-makes
a convenient size to handle. As the industry is extended, more tten-
-tion must be given to the convenience of the individual arid small
buyer. .-
In packing a crate the fruit must be pressed down firmly so it. will
not shake in transit., and, on the other haud, it must not be squeezed
down to the extent. of mashing or bruising. :The method varies greatly
Some of the fine large varieties when quite ripe have to be wrapped'in
bti wor more thicknesses of'soft paper and then packed in excelsior'Or
Spauish moss. ,This adds greatly to the cost of 'packing and prepar-
ingfd6rmar-ket, bit is usually more than compensated for by he higher
price they bring. .
For long distances.-Fine specimens of fruit that are to be shipped
.aigreat distance need special preparation-to stand the trip. When
the fruit is sufficiently fine to pay the cost, and sufficiently mature,
the plant. is cut off at the ground aind-the whole wrapped carefully:and
packed firmly in a crate or barrel. Sufficient ventilation is allowed
oo the plant will continue to live during transit. This method of pack-
ing 0for shipping requires experience aiid care. The vitality of the
plant, will be drawn into the fruit during transit, serving to matiureit
in a way much more like the fruit that is matured on the plant in the
field than the fruit that is cut from the plant and allowed to mature in
that way; Simmonds, in Tropical Agriculture, mentions another way
that is practiced in shipping fine fruit from the Azores. He says that
the stalk is cut several inches below the fruit and an ordinary large-
size flowerpot is then filled with mold, into which the stalk is inserted.
These are then shipped in skeleton cases to avoid bruising or injur-
ing, the fruit being wrapped in paper to further insure its safety. .
The bencbes.-The tables or benches on which the fruit. is delivered
from the field should be built about 30 inches high on the side where
the-laborers stand who do the wrapping-work. The top sh old-have
10049-No. 140-6--3







18


pitch sufficient to cause the fruit to roll to the front of the table. These
tops may :be made of 1-inch stuff, 1, 2, or 3 inches wide, the upper
corners .rounded. These strips are fastened crosswise of the table and
covered with coarse cloth, such as fertilizer sacks are made of. On
the front of the table is an 8 or 10 inch board to prevent fhe fruit
from rolling off The width of the table varies to suit the convenience
of the packing house, usually about 40 inches.
The benches are usually built along the walls of :a shed at a siding,
on two or three sides, as: may be most convenient. Such sheds are
furnished by the railroad company usually,: or they may be private
property and located at a siding. During the shipping season work is
so pressing that it is not practicable for more than one grower at a
time to use an ordinary shed. The fruit from the smaller field has to
be hauled to the siding.or to a depot.
SHIPPING.
This fruit will stand more rough handling and keep for a longer
time than any other tropical fruit, that is transported in the fresh con-
dition. The length of time that a good pineapple will keep depends
greatly on circumstances but in a.dry atmosphere, such as an ordinary
living room, a fruit free from bruises may be expected to keep for two
or three weeks from the time it is picked for shipping. Its ability to
stand rough handling and its good keeping qualities make it possible
oewship it. toj.the centers of population of all the great nations of the
world.. Europe is supplied mainly from northern Africa, the Madeiras;
the Canaries, and the Azores; the eastern portion of the United States
is supplied from the West Indies,, the Bahamas, 'and:from Florida,
and -the western portion of the ,United. States from the iHawaiian
Islands. A large area of our country is still left unsupplied.
In crates.-The larger portion of the fruit comes to the market in
crates, and this.is the only way in which it should be shipped except
when the poorest grades, that are used for canning, are being bandled.
The crate makes a good unit for quotations, for transportation rates,
and for the commission merchants. It also gives the individual an
opportunity to establish a. reputation and the buyer a' good chance
to trace back any fraud that might be practiced by an unscrupulous
planter; ,This':, handy package" has done more to extend the trade in
fruits and vegetables than would' at first seem possible. The trade-
mark of a particular planter may at first seem a useless expense, but it
hasproved advantageous to many orange growers. In some cases the
markets know the trade-marks so well that the fruit sells upon them
without further inspection. Some of the orange growers have custom-
ers whom they supply directly; thus saving the commission merchants'
fees ahd having a definite market for their product. ; :
In bulk.-In the Bahama Islands and the West Indies the greater
part of the fruit is still shipped in bulk. This, of course, discourages








the growing of any but the more prolific and coarser varieties. The
-fruit produced on the Keys was shipped in this way until quite recently.
-It was loaded into small sailing boats and taken to Key West or'some
other near-by port, and there packed for the regular market or loaded
onto larger vessels and taken to Northern markets and sold in bulk
4t canneries or to men who reshipped it to the consuming markets.
This method of shipping is not only unsatisfactory, but very liable to
lose a large part of the shipment.
By freight.-The bulk of the cropgoes into the market as freight.
For this purpose special trains are put on to pick up only pineapples.
These trains start out early in the morning, but since there is a sid-
ing" or depot every. mile or two in the pineapple belt it is ,well into
the heat of the day before the train begins to make much headway.
After the train has gotten out of the pineapple region it makes good
time, so that there is no great loss, ordinarily, from delay in forward-
ing by freight. ,
:.The, railroad laborers are -incl ed to handle the crates of fruit
rather roughly, but the growerecan minimize this by his presence and
-attention. The crates are so packed in the car, if it is a through car,
as to give considerable ventilation. This, together with the spaces
between the slats of the crate, allows the moisture to escape to some
" extent, and so keeps thlfruit dry and from sweating eve6 though the
Weather be somewhat warm. .
By express.-This is the ideal way of shipping, and although expen-
sive, is still in many cases profitable. Pineapples that are too. ripe to
go forward by freight may be shipped by express. The fancy varieties
that command high prices are usually permitted to develop until quite
;ripe before ,gathering, and such must be forwarded in the most expe-
ditious way possible, ,Where they are bought directly by the con-
sumer they are scarcely more expensive than those shipped by freight
and obtained from the dealers.
COLD STORAGE.
SExperiments in keeping pineapples in cold storage in this country
seem. to be wanting. It seems, quite probable, however, that this
method may be developed when the fruit shall become sufficiently
abundant and the cold-storage plants sufficiently numerous.
The experiment has been tried in New South Wales and reported
upon favorably. Since this fruit may be obtained at all times of the
year no great effortin this direction need be expected until the demand
shall have been supplied during the season in which the greater part
of the crop ripens.
*,MARETS.
With increased facilities for distribution the markets are being
greatly extended. %The question of nlkingi the pineapple a fruit to








be universally used depends entirely upon being able to distribute it
to all portions of the world at a price that brings it. within the pur-
chasing power of the inhabitants. As the transportation becomes
cheaper and more expeditious the area to be supplied becomes greater.
*uIn America.-During the time of slow sailing vessels and uncertain
railroad transportation the markets in this country were limited to the
Atlantic seaboard and the'ports of the Gulf coast. Since the advent
of the steamship and close railroad connection the cities as far inland
is Chicago, St. Louis, and Minneapolis have been regularly supplied.
From these as centers the secondary cities are furnished, but no special
effort, has been necessary to get rid of the fruit, so the inhabitants of
the smaller cities and towns rarely have an opportunity of' purchas-
ing it.
"The west. coast. of the United States is supplied mainly from the
Hawaiian Islands.-: : . ..
In. Europe.-The markets of Europe are regularly supplied from
Madeira, the Canaries, and the Azores. Large shipments are also
made annually from Jamaica; Trinidad, the Bahamas, and the West
Indies. Trial shipments have also been made from the United States,
and it has been fully demonstrated that the markets of Europe are not
'too far off nor too difficult to reach when the needs of the United
'States shall have been supplied. The common varieties and inferior
fruit will never be profitable for this maiiket, but we shall have to
produce a finer fruit at a lower pried thaniis produced in the Tropics.


The price paid for pineapples varies with the time of the year and the
market to be supplied. The fancy market will pay a handsome price
at any time for superior fruit. During the winter months the prices
are better than during spring, summer, and fall. The reason for this
is partly because the markets are full of other desirable fruits at these
seasons and partly because the supply of pineapples is limited during
the winter. Fifty cents apiece, even in Jacksonville, Fla., during the
winter is a common price for a pineapple that weighs 8 or 10 pounds.
Just before Christmas the prices run up to $6 and more a crate for fine
fruit. Christmas is a time of high prices for all rare fruits, and Lhese
prices must be regarded as somewhat abnormal.
SMedium-sized fine fruit brings a good price at all times, rarely less
than $2 to $2.50 per crate, while the small fruit sometimes sells too
low to pay for gathering and shipping. The product brought into
the markets for canning is usually sold in bulk, either by weight or
measure. :; : i
C' OST OF ONE ACRE.
Pigeapple growing as a systematized industry is so new that it
requires great care and constant attention to avoid failure. Enough







e431 -.


failures.have occurred to show several, ways in which we should not
g,o ,but.as a whole the most desirable plan has not been reached except
by a few. men. The markets are still able to take all the good fruit
.offered at a price that leaves some compensation.to the grower. The
question,. then, of financial success is not so.much of. being able tosell
a good:product as to produce one.

The outlfa per ucrrt.
Cost of land.......................................... $1.50 to $80.00
C'o-t of cleariug..................................... 20.00 60.00
CoEt of planti.'.... .............................. ..;.. 25.00 800.00
For fertilizer-................................. 20.00 150.00
.Freight, express,;etc......................... ..... 20.00 80.00
Labor .......................................... 25.00 75.00
Shed ............................................... 325.00 600. 00
Total ............................................. 436.50 1,845.00
This. estimate does not include the salary of the superintendent.
The first column is about as low as one would be safe in estimating;
while the amount might easily exceed the figures in the second
column.'
The receipts.
S For plabts........ ...................................... $ 00 to$.1,500
From frui. ............ ...... ............................. 150 750
:Total...................................... ............ 150 42, 250
The amountgiven in the second column has frequently been exceeded.
abd, under what appeared to be very favorable circumstances, an
amoniit less than that given in the first column has been realized from
the sale of products from an acre.
In Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Philippines, and on the Keys the largest
item of expense, the shed, is not incurred. To produce good fruit,
such as is'demahided by the fancy markets, the cost per acre can not
be reduced below $100. If the soil be fertile enough to grow a crop
without fertilizer the cost of clearing will be greatly decreased.
From the figures here given it will be seen that it requires consider-
able capital to grow pineapples extensively.

STARTING WITHOUT CAPITAL.

The figures seem almost prohibitive to many farmers, but it has been
demonstrated repeatedly that a willing laborer may become a pine-
apple grower. The absolute outlay in money may be reduced to the
cost of the plants, the cost. of the fertilizer, and the cost of land. This
puts the cost for the first year at about $50, and to carry this forward
to the ripening of the first crop about $20 more should be added,
making an outlay of $70 to produce the first crop on an acre. In the
pineapple-growing section of Florida there is sufficient demand for
o I- 0 =--4 1 !-;









labor to more than keep a man while he is growing his first crop.
Another plan adopted is for two persons to form a partnership, one
.working to supply the needed' cash while the other grows the crop of
pineapples. After the first crop has been produced the increase in
the number of plants will permit the extension of the area as rapidly
as financial conditions will allow. The one great drawback, to the
average man's succeeding in pineapple growing is that the returns
come in at one time and during a short period. So it is a case of
labor and wait for about eleven months in the year for the returns
during the twelfth month. The character of the pineapple land does
not permit many other-crops to be grown upon it successfully; conse-
quently the greater number of pineapple growers have to depend on
this crop alone. -
FERTILIZERS.

This term is applied to manures or substances used in the place of
manures. Those that are put up and sold on the markets are known
as commercial fertilizers. The most difficult, problem in connection
with the commercial growing of pineapples in the United States is the
proper use of commercial fertilizers. The chemical analyses of pine-
apple soils show conclusively that something must be added to the soil
before it can be productive (see pages 12 and 13). A soil so nearly devoid
of all the elements necessary to plant growth would, at first sight, be
considered the most unreasonable place to plant anything, but the
pineapple, and other fruits as well, are made up of about 90 per cent
of water, and less than 1 per cent. of them is made up of the mineral
matter which is added as a fertilizer. The amount of nitrogen
(ammonia) is also very small. Since these elements that have to be
supplied do not cost a prohibitive sum and water is free usually,
the need of commercial fertilizers becomes an advantage rather
than a drawback. Plants will take up almost any soluble matter
present in the soil at their roots, so that if a pineapple is placed in asoil
which is naturally fertile this will absorb the plant food regardless of
the fact that it may make the fruit insipid or nearly nauseous; but if
we have a soil in which there is no such matter to be taken up we may
supply those substances that will give the fruit the desired flavor and
keep it from ripening flat and insipid.
There is considerable land. that produces good pineapples without
the use of any fertilizer, but, it appears that the best and finest pine-
apples and likewise the largest crops are produced on land that has to
be heavily fertilized. Soils that are normally fertile become deficient
in some one or more of the constituents necessary to make them pro-
ductive. The soil need not be entirely deficient in the amount of the
elements required, to be unproductive, but these elements may be
.present,in such a combination that the particular plantmay be unable








.to appropriate them. It is: possible, therefore, that a particular soil
-.may have a large quantity of a certain element and yet be benefited
by an application of that element in a different form.
:n studying the effects of fertilizers it is always:important to take
into consideration the kind of soil, the amount of .cropping that "has
been done on it, the location, and even.the varying conditions of the
same field. Nor should too .much confidence be placed in the results
bof one or itwo years' experience. The pineapple soils of New Zealand
appear to be abundantly supplied with potash, while those in the
United States seem to be deficient in this element. There are, fields
that have raised several crops without the addition of this element
except in a limited amount in the form of cotton-seed meal or tobacco
stems. The latter substance contains a considerable quantity of- pot
ash, but in the cases referred to- it Was used only as'ii insecticide,
and, therefore, in asimall quantity. -

SCOMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. :-
The greater number of conmmercial-fertilizers are sold as complete
articles-that is, they are supposed to contain in proper proportion
every element of plant food that the particniar soil needs to make it
produce pineapples. "
The general reports as to what. fertilizers are the best are very con-
ficting, and even the reports as to what fertilizer elements are required
by a particular soil are not uniform. These conditions arise partly
from an imperfect understanding of what the fertilizer is supposed
to supply an. partly from the variable conditions attending different
applications. : ' .
The pineapple soil of'themainiland of Florida is so nearly sand and
insoluble matter that it is the ideal soil in which to experiment with
fertilizers on this crop. "
Time of applying.-The time of applying the fertilizer is by no means
well understood; so we may find people applying it at all time. of the
year with precisely the same end in view. Many growers prefer to
make one application during November or December and another just
after the crop has been gathered. Others make only one application,
and that. during the summer or in the early fall. Other growers make
three applications-one just after the crop has been shipped, the sec-
ond during the fall, and the third in the spring or winter just before
the blooms appear.: Even among the growers tbht niake the same
number of applications there is no uniformity. The practice among
the different growers is so variable that it is not improbable that a fer-
tilizer properly prepared may be used at any time of the year with
good results, although there inay be a time of the year or condition
of the soil when the fertilizers will prove to be of greater value than'
-'at any other time; also this tiiie must -be ascertained independentlyt









for each section and possibly for each field. It, does not now seem
probable that any fixed rule will ever be formulated for this operation
that will not involve considerable loss at times.. Experiments.will
doubtless be able to demonstrate what substances are best, for -pro-
ducing certain kinds of fruit, but' the. amounts of those substances
dissipated or wasted by conditions not under control will not be
determinable. In addition to this, there is an amount of fertilizer
and a kind of fertilizer that will produce a maximum of plant growth
consistent with the best economy.

AMMONIA.
..The terms nitrogen and ammonia, as used by the fruit growers in
connection with, fertilizers are nearlysynonymous, the only differ-
ence being that a fertilizer which contains 5 per cent of ammonia,
when expressed in the term of nitrogen, contains about 4 per cent
(4.059 per cent.) of nitrogen.. When th eterm.ammonia is used it does
not mean that the nitrogen present is there in the form of ammonia,
b it. it is simply a way of designating the amount of ammonia that
would be present if the nitrogen present were,combined with the nec-
essary amount of hydrogen to produce ammonia. Tle .fac.t,that larger
figures are,required to designate the amount in the form of ammonia
than in the. form of nitrogen has had something to do with the general
introduction of the term.
Cotton-seed meal.-This substance is used mainly for its nitrogen con-
tent, though it contains a small percentage of potash and phosphoric
acid. Some land, especially new land, is capable of producing a first-
class crop.with no other fertilizer, but it, is quite probable that nearly
all Florida pineapple soil needs potash, and possibly phosphoric acid
in addition, to produce a maximum crop. As a substance t b.e dropped
into the bud of newly set pineapple plants to furnish a small amount
of fertilizer and to protect the buds against, sanding, it is preferable to
anything else now in use.
Dried blood.-The nitrogen content of this substance is quite high,
running from 10 per cent.to 14.per cent.. The amount of potash and
phosphoric acid present is so small that it is usually not considered,
The nitrogen from this source is liberated somewhat slowly, which is
a point in its favor. It contains from two to two and a half times.as
much nitrogen as cotton-seed meal contains, a consideration not to be
overlooked; for all the fertilizer has to be applied by hand and shipped
a long distance. It may be applied directly into the bud without haim
to the plant. As a fertilizer it possesses all the advantages that cotton-
seed meal has and is more concentrated.
Blood and bone.-This fertilizer as found on the market contains an
indefinite amount of dried blood mixed with ground bone and fre-








quently with inert material to give it bulk. In using this substance
or mixture it is best to secure information as to its composition from
some reliable source. In addition to the value of the dried blood, the
ground bone contains some nitrogen and some insoluble phosphoric
acid, which the pineapple plant seems to be able to assimilate, at least
in a small degree. This form of fertilizer can also be applied directly
in the bud without injury to the plant.
Nitrate of soda.-This is a concentrated form of nitrogen. -When
applied it must be done with care, as it is quite caustic to the pineapple
plant, and if applied in- the bud is apt to kill it. As a source of
nitrogen it is quickly available and not considered lasting. If used,
a number of applications should doubtless be made during the season.
Large applications should not be made nor should it be left in bunches,
but distributed evenly and mixed thoroughly with the soil. When
pineapple plants appear to be growing too slowly they may be
"forced" along by an application of nitrate of soda. A little-experi-
ence with nitrate of soda and a knowledge of previous fertilizations
will enable one to use it to good effect. Some caution is necessary in
using nitrate of soda, as it produces luxuriant growth, but a tender
plant.
Sulphate of ammonia.-This is the most concentrated form of nitro-
gen that is used as a fertilizer. It contains about 201 per cent of
nitrogen. As a fertilizer for pineapples it. does not seem to produce
as good effect as-nit.rate of soda, and is usually applied in combination
with other substances; that is, as a mixed fertilizer.

S POTASH. b Vt
This substance is found in insufficient quantities in most of the pine
apple land on the South Atlantic seacoast. In the island pineapple
regions the soils have not been tested sufficiently to know definitely
just what is needed. In New Zealand the soil does not seem to be
benefited by an application of potash, and this will doubtless be found
true also in the Philippines and in the Hawaiian Islands or in other
volcanic regions.
Kainit.--This is a mineral substance composed of several salts in
combination as found in the mines. The principal constituents are
potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, magnesium chloride, and a
small amount of potassium chloride. A strong objection to its use is
that it contains only a small percentage of potash, there being usually
less than 12 per cent. It does not seem to be the best source of
potash for this crop, but why this is so does not seem to have been
determined. The percentage of potash is too low to permit its use in the
greater number of mixed fertilizers. As a fertilizer, or an ingredient
to use in combination, it will be advisable to avoid it, at least for the
present.








. Carbonate of potash.-This form of potash is not on the marketexten.
sively, but is one of the best forms for pineapples-. It contains about
18 per cent of potash. ,
Low-grade sulphate of potash.-This fertilizer is also called the double
potash salts, being a sulphate of potash and of magnesia. In addition
to the beneficial effects derived from the potash contained in it., the
magnesium sulphate is supposed to have some beneficial effect upon
this crop. The amount of potash present varies from 22 to 26 per
cent. As the price of the potash salts is fixed by the amount of potash
present, it may be advantageous to buy this form to secure the
advantages of having the magnesium sulphate present.
High-grade sulphate of potash.-This substance is composed almost
entirely of the sulphate of potash, and usually contains more than 95
per cent of sulphate of potash, or nearly 50 per cent of potash. From
the standpoint of bulk this Would be considered a more economical
fertilizer than any of the foregoing,, having almost no, waste product
to handle. Its reputation among pineapple growers is good.
Muriate of potash.-This salt is known to the chemist, and to some
extent to the pineapple grower, as potassium chloride. It contains
nearly 50 per cent of potash, an'd so is a fairly pure substance. As a
potash fertilizer it is well thought of by many growers; by some it is
believed that the pineapples grown on land fertilized with it are tender
and "bleed" easily.
Ashes.-Various forms of ashes are offered for sale in the markets.
They have no value, as a rule, beyond their potash content. They are
sometimes used for insecticidal purposes, but. can not be recommended
for that purpose. They may be obtained from cotton-seed hulls, hard
wood, saw palmetto, and other sources. The potash content of the
cottonseed-hull ashes is fairly constant, but that of the bard wood and
saw palmetto are exceedingly variable. Cottonseed-hull ashes may
contain as high as 20 per cent of potash, but that of hard wood will not
average much over 8 or 9 per cent. Ashes are unudubtedly good fer-
tilizers for pineapples, but their reputation has been greatly damaged
by large quantities of poor or worthless ones being placed on the market.
,Any one desiring to use ashes as a fertilizer should secure a guaranty
from a reliable source that the particular shipment that he expects to
buy has not been leached and that it contains a certain quantity of
carbonate of potash.
PHOSPHORIC ACID.
The amount of phosphoric acid needed by the pineapple plant for,
its fruit seems to be only one-tenth as much as the amount of potash.
If cotton-seed meal is used as a source of nitrogen it will supply nearly
as much phosphoric acid as seems to be needed, judging from a chem-
ical analysis of the fruit.








; Bone meal.-Ground or pulverized bone has long held anmimportant
place as a fertilizer for general, firm crops but has .not been recom-
mended extensively for a pineapple fertilizer. The esteem in which
it is held as a general purpose fertilizer places its price considerably
above what the pineapple grower can afford to pay for it, atleast from
a technical standpoint. Its value as a fertilizer on our present basis
of calculation would put itatabout.$12 per ton, which is much.below
its market price. The question as to whether the phosphoric acid it
contains is available to plants or nothas not been definitely settled.
The good effect upon pineapples produced by bone meal seems to be
.greater than can be accounted for on the theory that the nitrogen con-
tents is all that is available to the crop. .. ,
Acid phosphate.-Dissolved rock has been used so extensivelyin fer-.:
tilizing crops that it has been considered as an essential constituent.
Experience has shown, however, that this form of phosphoric acid i: .
,injurious to the pineapple crop under the Florida east-coast conditions.
For a time it was thought that the acid phosphate contained free sul-
phuric acid and that this was the cause of the injury, but by doub-
ling.and quadrupling the amount applied it was demonstrated that
.the cause for the unusual behavior of the plants after the addition of
phosphoric acid must be explained in some other way. The experi-
ments demonstrated, however, that the source of this element, phos-
phoric acid, should be sought elsewhere.
Other sources.-Guano, or the dung of sea fowl that has not been
leached is also an excellent source of phosphoric acid. Its high price.
has kept it out of the hands of the pineapple growers.
Fish scraps have been utilized to the best advantage. The whole
carcasses of otherwise worthless fish may be used as a fertilizer.
REMARKS ON COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS.
From extensive experiments carried out by the Florida Experiment
Station under the charge of the writer it seems that, blood and bone
gave the best results as a source of ammonia, nitrate of soda stood
second, and cotton-seed meal third, while sulphate of ammonia stood
last. .
Of theforms of potash used the potassium magnesium carbonate
stood first, low grade sulphate of potash second, high grade sulphate
of potash third, muriate of potash fourth, and kainit last. Bone meal
gave better results than did acid phosphate.
In a general way blood and bone gave good results with any form
of potash. Nitrate of soda in combination with acid phosphate or
with kainit did not seem to do well.
Just why these combinations did not do well has not been explained.
The general deductions obtained from the experiments on the sandy









soil of the east coast will be of great importance in understanding the
fertilizing of pineapples on other soils. ; ;i i:.'::

; WHO SHALL MIX THE FERTILIZER
The appliances necessary to mix fertilizers consist merely of a good
packing-house floor and an ordinary sand screen, such as is used by
plasterers. One hundred or 200 pounds of ditlerent elements may be
mixed at a time. The fertilizer houses make a point that the pineapple
grower can not mix the elements evenly, but by running the fertilizer
through such a screen several times the material will usually be mixed
sufficiently if all the elements were present in the proper proportions
in the beginning. As a rule, two or three thorough screenings is all
that a mixture needs.
There are reliable fertilizer houses which will mix any combination
of fertilizer elements for an additional cost of $1 per ton over the
amount that the elements cost in their establishment. We hare no
evidence that the pineapple fertilizer improves by being kept after it
has been mixed, nor is there any reason why each element should not
be added separately as the particular part may be needed by the grow-
ing plants. Above all other ordinary considerations the pineapple
grower should know the origin of each element in his fertilizer, and
the fertilizer house ought to be required to guarantee this before the
fertilizer is purchased, if one buys a prepared pineapple fertilizer. It
is much more important with the pineapple crop than with the truck
crops, and it is fully as important as in a tobacco or an orange crop.

FERTILIZER FORMULA.
The formula given below is thought to be such as will supply the
needed amounts of plant food to soil that is nearly destitute of the
principal forms-nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid.
The pineapple grower is the only one who is able to tell whether
his particular field needs more potash, more phosphoric acid, '6r
more nitrogen, and he can tell it only after definite experiments. The
following formula will be found useful:
Per cunt.
Ammonia.......................................................... 4
Potash ................. ......... .......................... ...... 6
Phosphoric acid.................................................. 1
Use about. 1.II00 pounds per acre of the above formula for the first
application, after the plants have been set out and'are well rooted.
Use about 1,500I pounds for the second application, hqd then determine
from results whether to increase the amount for the third application
or not. These figures and formulae are approximate only and may
not be equally good for any two fields or for any two lands of the
same field. .







:29


AMOUNTS OF DIFFERENT FERTILIZERS.
The following statement shows the amounts of diferen fertilizers
that. should be used for an acre:
As sure of ammonia-
500 pounds blood and bone, or
:. 200 pounds dried blood, or
150 pounds nitrate of soda, or
-100 pounds cotton-seed meal, or
120 pounds sulphate of ammonia.
As source of po:.ta.h-
350 pounds carbonate of potash, or
250 pounds low-grade sulphate of potash, or .
120 pounds high-grade sulphate of potash, or:.
S: 120 pounds muriate of potash.
As source of phosphoric acid-
120'pounds bone meal, or
-120 pounds guano ( bird dung., or
120 pounds dried fish scraps.
If blood and bone he used as a source of ammonia the bone will
doubtless supply a sufficient amount of phosphoric acid.
If cotton-seed meal be used as a source of ammonia there seems to be
no good reason for-adding any substance to secure more phosphoric
acid; that is, cotton-seed meal and a potash seem to form a complete
fertilizer for pineapples.
If guano' or ish scraps be used as a source of phosphoric acid the
amount. of ammonia-furnishing substance should be decreased by one-
third.
From the experiments completed the indications are that the amounts
named in the foregoing table are approximately what. is needed on an
acre of a good quality of spruce-pine land. The substances thought to
be best. are named first under each fertilizer element. ,
HOMEMADE FERTILIZERS.
These usually include the manure from domestic animals and the
decayedmass from straw or other organic matter that has been col-
lected for other:purposes than that of the manure or fertilizer produced.
At times this vegetable and animal matter is collected on purpose for
the rotten material that it will produce. This material is sometimes
mixed or composted with commercial fertilizers to give to the material
the elements needed for plant food.
SThis kind of fertilizer is excellent for pineapples, but the supply is
,so limited that it is scarcely worth considering. When homemade
fertilizers are used the vegetable matter should be thoroughly rotted
before it is applied.
Eelgrass and seaweeds generally give good results especially if used
in a well-decomposed state. In most cases, however, therddVartagea







30

from the use of these marine plants is not commensurate with the cost
and trouble of applying.
MULCHING..
M ost fnuit crops take kindly to a good coating of mulch, and the
pineapple is no exception to this rule. After the first crop has been
gathered most of the old foliage dies and makes a covering for the
soil. The leaves of the old plant do not die until the young plants
that have started from them have exhausted the old plants. By the
time the second crop of fruit is maturing the leaves of the plants that
produced the first crop form a considerable mulching.. To this will be
added from year to year the leaves and stems of the plants that have
produced a crop. In the course of five or six years this makes a con-
siderable covering over the ground or humic addition to the soil.
Any protection of the soil from the direct rays of the sun is a benefit,
but a mulching adds to the soil a small quantity of organic matter.
The beneficial effect of this is very striking.
STheapplication of organic matter for the purpose of mulching is
the exception. Mulching material is both difficult to obtain and haz-
ardous to use. The danger from fire is so gieat that no one. would
wish to apply it on a large scale. In some instances fires destroyed so
many plants that less than half the area burned over could be. set out
with the remaining plants. The cases referred to were in fields where
no mulch had been applied, but the fire caught in dead plants.

THE 1AND.
The places where this crop grows seem to be the nost unlikely ones
for [the cultivation of any fruit or vegetable. :-iThsis d-is btless-'the
reason for so many surprises in pineapple propagation. Its native
haunts appear to be in the shade of dry forests in some of the tropical
countries of America. Its near relatives live in moist atmospheres
but. in dry locations, in such places as on tree trunks and boughs, and
sat the feet of trees. .
Clearing.--One of the first requisites of the land is that it should
have a free circulation of water. The soil may become thoroughly
soaked, but-it must not be filled with stagnant water. Such land has,
.as a rule, very little heavy timber upon it, and so does not prove diffi-
cult to clear thoroughly, and when once cleared it does not send up
many suckers.
The Airstwork of clearing is to remove all large trees and shrubbery,
digging them out by the roots, or at least cutting the roots deep
enough under ground so they will not be struck by plows or other
implements. The stumps of the larger pine trees, especially if they
are over 10 inches in diameter, are usually left. It does not pay to
remove these unless more abundant than usual, and in three or four








years they will be rotten and-the pines will have spread over the place
previously occupied by the stump. So much of the cultivation and
other operations is by hand that not much interference with the work
results. After the grubbing has been done and all visible obstacles,
excepting the large stumps mentioned, have been piled up they are
burned. This clears the field of nearly every vestige of wood or other
material that would obstruct working the field. The land is then plowed
deeply and carefully, and the plowing locates any roots or stumps that
may have been missed in the first, work, especially the roots and under-
ground stems of many vines, such as the china briar (Smilar sp.),
gopher apple (Chrysobalarnus), and- perennial -herbaceous plants that
happen to be dormant at the time of clearing. The large quantity of
this material taken out at this time is burned when sufficiently dry or
-when convenient. If the pineapple soil contains much vegetable matter,
which is an unusual thing, it. is better to remove the trash from the
pineapple field before burning it. Usually there is nothing in the
pineapple soil that can be damaged. Finally, the land is-raked over
with a wooden -hand rake to take off the last vestige of trash or ash
piles that. might prove an obstruction.
The cost of clearing pineapple land varies with the character and
amount of growth. Poor pineapple land has been cleared for as little
as $8 to $20 an acre and land with a heavy mixed growth may cost for
clearing as much as $80 per acre. The average land will cost some-
where between these figures for clearing. Where the land is rocky
in addition to the native vegetation the cost of clearing is greatly
increased and may amount to as much as $200 per acre. :
On the Keys.-The method of clearing on the Keys is very different
from that on the mainland. Here is a coralline-rock foundation with
little or no soil upon it, so that plowing and grubbingare impracticable.
The pineapple grower therefore cuts the vegetation during the grow-
ing season, and when it is thoroughly dry it is set on fire. This burns
all the cut material and destroys most of the remaining vegetation.
While this method of clearing is very simple and primitive it is the
only one practicable. There being only a small amount of vegetable
matter or soil present the field becomes exhausted soon. The land is
then thrown out to be reclaimed by nature and a new field is cleared,
which in turn is thrown out when it becomes exhausted. This proc-
.ess can not, be continued indefinitely, since the area of the Keys is
limited.
LAYING OFF THE LAND.
After the field has been thoroughly cleared it is laid off into land
of widths to suit the purposes of the planter. A favorite distance,
where the field is extensive, is to lay the lands off about 60 feet wide.
This leaves a distance of about 30 feet for the man who breaks the









fruit to toss it .to the man in the pathway-one side of a land being
picked over at a time.
The lands are laid off in varying checks, favorite distances being 18
by 18 to 22 by 22 inches for the smaller varieties, 22 by 22 to 30 by 30
inches for the medium sized, and from 30 by 30 to 48 by 48 inches for
the largest varieties, or the distance between the rows may be greater
than that between the plants in the row. A favorite distance.for Red
Spanish is 18 by 22. Smooth Cayennes are often planted 20 by 30
inches apart.
The method of planting in beds about 15 feet wide under sheds
has been practiced for a. considerable time and is gaining in favor.
Thisallows the laborers.to use the,shtffle hoe without.. going between
the..plants, and also to apply the fertilizer by merely stepping among
the plants of. the first two rows.- It -is always necessary to.exercise
the greatest.care in order to avoid breaking the leaves.
On the Keys the laying off of lands is impracticable, but,plants must
be set wherever there is room and enough soiL.
.When _the planter has determined the-size of his.'ands and.the dis-
tance between the plants in the row and the distance between the
rows, the rows.and checks are laid off,.either by h,:nd,or by.a horse
marker. It is not worth. the.while to exercise-great care to have the
rows exactly straight nor the plants placed at. mathematical distances,
as in twelve months one field will look as well as another. If the soil
be somewhat firm the.rows may be opened with a small plow. Various
other methods are adopted to meet the needs of. the individual field.,
In planting under sheds the lands, or beds, are laid off so as to leave
the roads and ways -free from posts, the beds being.made as wide as
the greatest distance between the posts, with the rows of posts running
down the.middle of the beds. The location of the roads will depend
npon.the needs of, the individual-sheds.

PLANTING.
Suckers are planted for the main crop of the common varieties.
Slips and crowns take too long to mature a crop to be utilized except-
ing when suckers'are nbt to be obtained. Well-matured suckers will
produce a crop in fourteen to eighteen' tonth's from time of setting
out.
It is desirable to strip off the lower leaves of the suckers aid to
trim the butt end as shown in fig. 1. Not to strip off these leaves
givesa tendency to "tangleroot." After cutting the end off square, the
leaves may be stripped off until the newly formed roots are visible.
(See illustration 6, fig. 1.)
The sucker should be set 3 to 5 inches deep, according to size, care
being taken not to set it so deep that sand can be easily blown into
the bud. Many planters prefer to clip off the ends of the leaves to









keep the wind from blowing the plants over. This is not necessary
except in exposed fields and should be avoided if practicable.
Crowns are not utilized extensively for planting because they are
shipped with the fruit and it requires a year longer for them than for
suckers to come into bearing. In the vicinity of canneries they might
be used, but as a rule they are not worth the cost of saving. They
are set out just as suckers are, but there is less danger from sanding
and from being blown over.
Slips are usually so small that they are used only in the higher-
priced varieties, or when plants are scarce. They are treated very
much as the sucker, but need much more attention and care. They
can not be set more than 2 to 4 inches deep, and even then there. is
danger of their sanding or being blown over. It usually takes slips a
year longer to mature a crop than it does well-matured suckers,
though large slips planted at the right time may mature a crop in
twenty months.-












a b
Fia. 1. a, pineapple -ucker trimmed ready lo set; 6, base of a properly tunm= d uc ker. (After H.J.
Webber, Y. B. U. B. Dept. Agr., 1895, p. 279. Fig. 66.)
Seed is used only for experimental purposes, like originating new
varieties. It is said to take these ten or twelve years to mature a
crop.
Time of planting.-Plants may be set out at any time during the year,
but the favorite' time is during the fall after the suckers have made a
good growth and are somewhat hardened off. If set at this time of
the year they will make considerable growth during the fall months
and early winter. If set at the beginning of winter a considerable per
cent. may be lost. from various causes.
If there should be suckers fit to set out during the spring the pine-
apple grower should not permit any avoidable disturbance at that
time, because it is the time of fruiting, when the plants need every
advantage possible to produce the finest fruit. Practically the time
for setting out pineapple suckers is limited to the season from July to
November, and in a more limited way to the 1st of February.




*4.


34

CULTIVATION.'''
in the sandy region of south Florida very little attention is directed
toward the matter of cultivating after the field has been set out. This
is by no means due to indifference or carelessness, but rather to the
result of years of experience. Many different types of labor-saving
implements have been used and nearly all possible ones have been
tried, but under the present condition of labor and profit ih the culti-
vation of this crop there will be very little change in the matter of
cultivation, simply because the present methods are the best under the
existing conditions.
Cultivation as it is now practiced consists in agitating the surface of
the soil to the depth of about an inch with a shuffle hoe three or four
times a year. Some planters hoe the pines as often as once a month.
The roots of the plants do not, penetrate the soil deeply. The soil is
made up of so large a per cent of sand that it can not bake or form a
.ard crust. While the hoeing would conserve the moisture to some
extent, it does not have so beneficial an effect as on clay soil.
As there are comparatively few weeds, they can be easily kept in
subjection by pulling them up.
On the Keys nothing in the way of cultivation can be practiced.
The attention given the crop there is restricted to cutting off such
large weeds and woody plants as happen to spring up.
In-Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippine Islands a different class
of soil is utilized for producing pineapples, and more attention must
be given to the cultivation of this crop. In all of these sections pine-
apple growing is still undeveloped, and consequently the cultivation
varied and often indifferent. In Jamaica implements that. might be
called plows are used as ordinary cultivators. This method should
reduce the cost of production to some extent, but cultivation is not
the heavy item of expense.
Avoid breaking the leaves.-During the growing season the leaves of
the pineapple plant are very easily broken. The peculiar and com-
plicated structure of the pineapple leaf makes it very resistant to
'drought, hut if the epidermis is broken it soon loses moisture to an
* excessive extent,-and damage to the plant results. Whatever imple-
ments are uAed or whatever operations are performed in the field,
special care mUist be exercised to avoid breaking leaves.

IRRIGATION.
Whether irrigation is profitable ori not must be determined on each
plantation and by each individual grower. Where the rains are well
distributed and abundant there may not be sufficient advantage from
the application of water during a short drought to compensate for the
costof an irrigating plant. Whare the grower has gone to the expense









of erecting sheds it will doubtless pay to have a supply of water also.
Irrigating plants provided with spray nozzle and standpipes have been
used, but it is doubtful if this extra expense is compensated for. The
direct application of the water to the soil will doubtless prove just as
efficacious.
In the pineapple district of Florida droughts are liable to occur
between the time of blooming and ripening. Sometimes 4hey are of a
month or six weeks' duration, with a total rainfall of less than an
inch. The serious effects of a drought at such a time are very great.
These effects are here shown by a concrete illustration: An acre of
Red Spanish plants that. would produce 4,800 pineapples, 24's, would
make a crop of 200 crates and would sell for $650, or at the rate of
$3.25 per crate. The same fruit would not do better than to make 30's
if a long drought had occurred, and would sell for only $3 per crate, or
the whole crop of 160 crates for only $480. Thus, while there would
be a shrinkage of only 20 per cent in the number of crates, there
Should be a shrinkage of over 26 -per -cent. in- the returns from the
S markets.
CANNING.
Canned pineapple has long been known -as an article of commerce.
Most of the pineapples canned are foreign-raised fruit, being'imported
fresh or canned abroad and then imported, but mostly the former.
In-this form pineapples are known in nearly all of the cities and towns
in the United States.
For general market.-Large canneries use from 25,000 to 50,000
'pineapples per day. This means about 500 crates, or more than a car-
load a day, to run a canning factory of the size of some in the British
West Indies. The peeling and slicing are performed on -benches or
tables. The men in Nassau canneries receive about 50 cents a day,
the-women about 25 cents, and the children about 12. cents. In Poito
Rico and Hawaii it may be practicable to establish canning factories
for a large output, but in Florida, where labor is scarce at $1 to $1.25
a day during the pineapple season, it can scarcely be considered
opportune on an extensive scale at. present. Smaller factories that
put up other fruit during the year would doubtless be able to take
care of a smaller amount of -the.overripe pineapples.
The process of canning is not complicated, and is practically the
same as for other fruit. Of course, experience is necessary to suc-
cessful work. The fruit. is peeled and sliced, put into cans, and the
sirup added. The cans are then soldered and immersed in the steam
cooking or sterilizing vat. After removal from the vat the cans are
perforated to allow the steam to escape, and then the perforation is
sealed and the contents allowed to cool. The size of the cans and the
concentration of the sirup depend upon. the market that is to be sup-









plied. .Two conditions-plenty of cheap labor and plenty of cheap
pineapples-are necessary to successful pineapple canning. :
For home use.-The pineapple is easily canned for home use. The
peeling is removed carefully, the fruit quartered or sliced, and the
core taken out.. The cans, preferably glass jars, are filled with sec-
tions and boiling sirup poured on to fill the jars. These are then set
into.a kettle of boiling water for fifteen or twenty minutes, then they
are removed from the kettle, and the cap, which, with the rubber, has
been sterilized, screwed on.
Anoth6i way is to prepare as before and boil in sirup for fifteen or
twenty minutes, then fill into scalded glass jars and put the sterilized
rubber and screw-cap on as before. This is more easily done than the
former way, but there is more danger of introducing live germs.
For flavoring.-For thfs purpose the pineapples are secured as fully
ripe as practicable. The peeling and slicing is done much as for can-
ning. The sections are then ground and put up in cans or jars of suit-
able size. Just as little cooking as possible is done when the fruit is
intended for flavoring. To avoid sterilizing by means of heat, pre-
servatives of various kinds are used to preserve ground fruit. For the
cheaper trade, such as the soda-water fountains in villages, this ground
fruit is put up in small tins holding about half a pound. For the
larger trade it is put up in larger cans, and for the best trade in glass
jars. This method of putting up fruit for flavoring is reprehensible,
and even small quantities of the preservative such as may be consumed
with each glass of soda water are likely to produce bad effects, especi-
ally on children and invalids. Even healthy persons would probably
'suffer certain injury if small quantities of this preservative were con-
sumed by them daily for any considerable length of time. The fruit
to be used for flavoring may also be prepared by treating the ground
fruit in 'the same way as the sliced fruit. This has the disadvantage
of losing a part of the flavor, but more of the product may be used
and thus avoid the bad effects or the chances of ill effects of the pre-
servative used.
For medicinal purposes.-It is well known that, this fruit contains an
active principle called "aannasine," which possesses active digestive
properties. Advantage has been taken of this fact in the manufacture
of pineapple digester and in separating the active principle for medi-
cinal purposes. ;
TO PREPARE FOR TABLE USE.
While canned pineapple may be used when the fresh fruit can not
be obtained, it is only an inferior substitute. To secure the full benefit
of this fruit it should be allowed to ripen fully, preferably on the plant.
No matter how daintily a pineapple is served it is not quite equal in
flavor to the dead-ripe fruit just picked from the plant and eaten out
of hand.







37


SSlieed.-With a large knife remove all the peeling, being careful to
remove the last bit of the eyes that may remain. Any part of the
peel is liable to prove quite acrid. The crown may be-used as a part
to hold the fruit by, or it may. be removed and the fruit held by the
use of a carving fork. Beginning at the base of the fruit, slice off
whole segments three-quarters of an inch or an inch thick. Sprinkle
each segment with sugar to give the desired sweetness. After the
entire fruit has been sliced and treated with sugar set-aside for twelve
hours. At, the end of this time considerable pineapple sirup will have
formed in the fruit dish and the flavor and palatableness will have been
improved greatly, especially if it has been standing in a refrigerator.
A good pineapple should be so tender that it can be eaten with an
ordinary fruit spoon.
Dug-out.-For this purpose select a large pineapple. Cut the base
off square and take the crown out. Then with a thin-bladed, sharp
kitchen knife cut around just under the peel, so as to remove the
entire meat and-leave the peel intact. Cut or shred the meat into
suitable shape for use and sprinkle thoroughly with sugar. Set the
cylinder made by the-peel on a large plate, right end upward. Put
the-prepared pineapple into this cylinder and place the crown in posi-
tion until ready to serve. This makes a very pretty ornament on the
dinner table, as it looks like a whole pineapple. To serve, the crown
is taken off and the prepared pineapple taken out with a fruit ladle or
a large fruit fork. Only large fruits can be used in this way, and they
must be used soon after being prepared, or else the sugar should be
withheld until the fruit is served.
Shredded.-Prepare the fruit in the same way as for slicing and then,
by means of a carving fork or other strong fork, begin at the base
and pull off the meat from the core. This leaves the fruit in a more
palatable condition than when it is cut into small pieces. Treat and
serve in the same way as in case of sliced pineapple.
To flavor other fruit.-Some fruits when put up to keep lack char-
acter or.special flavor.. A small amount of pineapple prepared with
them imparts a flavor and tartness that is pleasing. This is especially
true of oriental pears and quinces.

DISEASES, INSECTS, AND.. INJURIES.
Under this head are included manifestations of untoward conditions
that. are usually recognized in the pineapple field, and whose causes
are more or less obscure. This includes ravages of insects and insect-
like animals, and also those conditions whose agent or cause is at
present not known. In studying the literature for diseases of the
pineapple one is surprised by the limited number of insects and fungi
that attack this species. Saccardo's Sylloge Fungorum records only
four species of fungi as attacking species of the geius Ananas, to









which the pineapple belongs.' Insect Ife, appears to mention only
one insect that attacks this plant.
The reason for this immunity is not altogether clear. It may be
accounted for, in part, at least, by the fact that the plant has but
recently been introduced on an extensive scale into field cultivation.
To this may be added the fact that the plant is radically different from
any other in cultivation, so that insect migration or fungous infection
from .othbr crops is greatly reduced. Ordinary insect and fungous
pests are not adapted to live on pineapples.
On the whole, it is best not to take care of diseased pineapples, but
to discard them and start with vigorous plants. It, will be more
profitable in the end.
BLIGHT; WILTS.
SThis disease manifests itself by a.change in the color of the leaves,
beginning at the tips and extending gradually dowmwaird.- The tips
of the leaves wither and dry up. Usually this blight.begins with one
or a few plants, and gradually the extent of the area is increased.
Cause.-According to Mr. Webber, a root-inhabiting Fusarium-like
fungus seems to be the cause of the disease. This would account for
the progress of the disease in the individual plant and its gradual
spreading from one plant to another adjoining. It seems to attack
all varieties of pineapples, but the fancy kinds are attacked the most.
Remedy.-The disease being due to a fungus that lives in the soil, it
is impracticable to use the ordinary fungicides for remedial purposes.
These, especially Bordeaux mixture, have been used with no apparent
beneficial effect. So for as fungicides are concerned they must.. be
considered as of little or no value in connection with this disease of
the pineapples.
SIt has been recommended to take up the affected plants and cut. off
all the lower portion of the stem until, no more black or dark root
ends are visible, which seems to indicate that al diseased portions
have been cut ofl; then strip off the leaves as for setting out and reset
the plants. This seems to be the only method known that will save
diseased plants, and this will not pay for any but the higher-priced
varieties.
The usual method of treating a blighted spot-is to remove all the
plants- affected and also some plants beyond those that, show blight,
then fertilize the spot thoroughly and set out to vigorous suckers.
There does not seem to be much danger from this disease holding over
if all of the affected plants have been removed. It is well, however,
to remove a circle of plants beyond those showing the blight, since
some plants in this adjacent area may be infected and not show it.
Such a plant would become a new focus for dissemination.








FRUIT MOL3D. :
Dr. Halsted, of the New Jersey Experiment Station, has found that
rotting of pineapple fruits was brought about by a mold known as
C7alnra paradox (de Sey.) Sac. While it is not probable that this is
the only one of the molds thatwill cause rotting of the fruit, it is quite
probable that the ordinary rots of apple and peaches do not cause rot-
ting in pineapples. -,
Remedy.-Exercise all reasonable care not to bruise the fruit nor
break the peetl. Before packing, the fruit should be allowed to become
thoroughly dry, especially the broken end of the stem. This usually
occurs in the field between the time of breaking and hauling it to the
shed. ':
All refuse fruit Ahonld be removed daily from the packing house
and its vicinity and the surroundings be kept entirely free from any-
thing of thatlkind. The refuse pineapples, crowns, leaves, and waste.
matter generally are propagating places for various molds, the spores
of which are liable to be carried to the fruit and wrapped with it
ready to induce decay on the first favorable occasion.
MEALY BUGS.
Apparently more than one species of this genus feeds upon the
pineapple. These bugs attack the plants at the base of the leaves,
usually underground. This insect is so generally distributed in the
pineapple section that the full damage it does is not appreciated. 'At
times it becomes so severe that the infested plants show a distinct dis-
eased condition.
Besides attacking the leaves, the fruit is also attacked, especially
among the slips and in the eyes.
Remedy.-It is generally supposed that ants distribute the insects
-mad 4he eggs, but this does not account for their appearance in new
fields. As it is probable that they are introduced with the plants,
special care should be exercised to secure plants free from this pest..
Plants that are suspected as being infested should be discarded or
dipped into a spraying solution of resin wash or kerosene emulsion.
In the field these remedies have not proved of sufficient effectiveness to
warrant their use. Some good can be done, however, in the field by
applying a handful of tobacco dust directly in the bud, if this be done
before the bloom begins to appear. This destroys some of the mealy
bugs and their eggs and it does the plant good in the way of a fer-
tilizer. For preparation of resin wash and :kerosene emulsi-on see
Farmers' Bulletin No. 127, by C. L. Maria tt
RED SPIDER (Stigmensu floridanus Bke.)
This spider mite inhabits the aseof the leaves belowthe green por-
tion. While the pests are present often by the hundreds, they are so









small that the amount of' food they take from the plant, must be
regarded as insignificant. The individual specimen is barely visible to
the average unaided eye. The damage is brought about, however, by
their opening a way through the epidermis for the entrance of rot
fungi. To discover the presence of this mite, pullout one of the outer
leaves of a suspected plant and- brownish areas will be observed if the
mite be present (see fig. 2). After the mite has attacked the plants for
some time the leaves rot off at the base, the mites haviiig migrated to
fresh leaves, followed in turu by the rot, until all the leaves of the
plant have been cut. off and the plant practically killed.
Remedy.-The remedy for this is so simple and effective that this pest "
is no longer a serious enemy. An application of tobacco dust in the
bud is usually effective. If one appli-
cation fails to kill all the red spiders, a
il second application in two weeks rarely
'I i fails to complete the destruction.
S I I1 PINEAPPLE SCALE.
This insect (Diapis bromdilr) is trou-
'I 1blesome in the drier districts, but rarely
does much damage in Florida. It has
i been found repeatedly on plants im-
ported from Hawaii, and has been dis-
1 .,seminated to many parts of Florida, but
I has not become troublesome excepting
W\ r gi.fl in a few places and in some greenhouses.
R emedy.-Dip plants as for mealy bug
I or, if present in the field, spray with
Sresin wash or kerosene emulsion, using
only so much as is necessary to cover
the insects. (See mealy bug, p. 39.)
Fio. 2 -Base of a pineapple leaf show- SPIKE; LONGLEAF.
I ng the effect of the red spider's work.
(A.ter Webber, Y. B. U. S. Dept. Agr. These terms are applied to a peculiar
1., p. 282, BR. 67.) T e term-
., growth of the plant, in which the leaves
grow long and narrow-and the edges are inclined to roll in. In severe
cases the leaves stand nearly erect and remain so much rolled up that
the- new leaves have no chance to unfold. In addition the leaves are
apt to be rigid. The roots are few, but appear to be normal.
Plants badly affected with spike do not grow out of it. They rarely
produce any fruit, and that not of a marketable quality. The disease
is transmitted to the suckers or other plants produced by sp.ky
parents. In severe cases no reproduction occurs, hut the plint
lingers for two or three years and then dies.









Cause.-No organism seems to be connected with. this disease. wIt
seems to be'due to a peculiar condition of soil or fertilizer.. A large
percentage of plants set. on shell mounds or soil that.has much shell in
in it are subject. to spike. They are also subject to spike if planted
over a rotting root or buried stump. Spots in fields where large piles
of wood.have been burned and the ashes not scattered are-also likely
to grow spiky plants.
Among the fertilizers which will produce 'spiky plants are ,aod
phosphate, kainit, sulphate of-ammonia, and cotton-seed meal. In
fertilizer experiments carried out by the writer and referred to before
it was found that nearly all the plants in plots fertilized with combi-
nations of the above-named fertilizers became spiky in less than two
years. It is probable that aniy one of the above-named fertilizers
might be used in other combinations and in small quantities without
bad effect. Cotton-seed meal has been used for years on certain fields
with no bad effects, but such fields were not destitute of other ele-
ments necessary for the use of the plants. Sulphate of ammonia has
been used in combination with other fertilizers with apparently good
effect. Acid phosphate and kainit produced more or less spike in
over three-fourths of their combinations. ,
Remedy.-There is no practical remedy for this condition and the
only escape is to avoid it. All spiky plants should be destroyed, so
as to prevent any possibility of transplanting any suckers with a spiky
tendency.
Avoid planting on shell soil.. :
If plants show any tendency to become spiky the greatest bare
should be exercised in the use of fertilizers. A liberal application
ay.ebe made of.bone meal, blood and bone, or dried blood, which
seem to be the best forms of ammonia. The potash should be applied
with some degree of caution; carbonate and low-grade sulphate are
believed to be the best forms. Frequent. working with a shuffle hoe
seems to be advantageous in a spiky field. Plants showing a tendency
to grow spiky bshoud be treatedpromptly. .. .i;.;, -i

SANBlDING.
* Newly set pineapple plants are somewhat slow in beginning to grow,
especially if a dry spell follows immediately after they are trans-
planted. During this time the wind is liable to fill the buds with sand
and it seems to have a smothering effect. Subsequent rains beat it in
harder and aggravate the matter. If the plants be set a little too deep
the sand is liable to wash into the bud and then to form the same kind
of a plug.
Remedy.-Sanded plants are difficult to handle successfully. Some
pineapple growers have used hand bellows to blow the dry sand out,









and others hare washed the sand out by means of a jet, from a spray
pump. But these are slowand aggravating methods, and it is better
to avoid the trouble than to remedy it after it has occurred, although
sanding occurs at times in spite of extra vigilance.
To prevent sand from getting into the bud fill the bud with a mix-
ture of cotton-seed meal and tobacco dust. This will form a solid
cake and as the new leaves grow out, the plug is lifted and no harm
done to the plants. As the dews and rains dissolve the plant food it
is carried into the soil and the tobacco dust furnishes insecticide as
well as plant food. Mix about one part of tobacco dust to four or
five parts of cotton-seed meal.
Large suckers planted on the level are in no danger of becoming
sanded, but it will pay to make a similar application to them.
RIPLEY SPIKE; GOING BLIND.
Mr. Webber describes this disease as follows: "The diseased slips
and suckers, which appear perfectly healthy at first, grow vigorously
for a time, but finally throw out one or two rolled-up thickened leaves
from the apex, which .gcow out to considerable length, but retain their
thickened and rolled-up character. All growth of the plant nowceases
and it suckers from belowas if it had fruited. In some plantations this
disease of the Ripley Queen affects nearly one-third of the plants and
thus it becomes a very serious malady -if this variety is to be grown."
,Kept. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 1896, p. 894.)
Remedy.-Mr. Webber's experience with the disease leads him to
believe that the disease is transmitted and that suckers from blind"
plants produce 63 per cent of diseased plants, while suckers from healthy
plants but from the same plantation, produced only 4 per cent of
liseased plants. (Yearbook, U. S. Dept. AgT., 1S98, p. 375.)-' Thede-
'ore, avoid planting suckers from plants that have gone blind."

TANGLEROOT.

This disease Will be understood by referring to figure 3. The upper
ind younger roots have wound tightly around the upper portion of
the stem. In the figure the lower leaves have been removed to show
this condition. The cause for this peculiar distortion is not -wel
understood.
BLACKHEARXU.

This disease manifests itself by the heart of the fruit taking on a
water-soaked appearance and finally turning dark. The fruit usually
becomes worthless before the water-soaked appearance has involved
the entire meat.
Cause.--The cause of the disease is not known, though what appears
to be the same condition occurs in Queensland, Jamaica, and the
United States.








When the disease comes .to notice the fruit should b. consumed
as soon as possible. No attempt should be made to send' it to any
but the nearest markets.' There appears to have been more trouble
with blackheart during the-. :
winter season and during rainy ., A "
weather than in the summer and I
during dry weather.
PINEAPPLE SHEDS.
As early as 1886 M1r. William
Saunders (Reportt: of Depart-
mentof Agricultire, 1S86, page
691) reported the uie of a sort
of a protection built on posts in
the form of an elevated plat-
form and covered -with -palm -
(palmetto) leaves to protect
pineapplesagainst cold. It was
later discovered that the pine-
apples grown in partial shade
were more tender and juicy
than those grown in the open.
The desire to protect this plant
from the winter's cold seems to
have been the origin of our -
present pineapple sheds, though '
the protecting of pineapples by
sheds has now extended to theo
region where there is little dan-
ger of freezing. The value of
the half-shade condition in im-
proving the. quality of the fruit FG. 3.-.Tangleroot. (After Webber, Y. B., U. S. Dept.
Agr., 1895, p. 280, fig. G6.)
is now so generally recognized
thift this is the important consideration by many for building
sheds.
This is'not surprising when we remember that the pineapple plant
does best in those places that have a mean annual temperature of about
750, with the smallest annual variation, the islands of the tropics being
their favorite habitat.
These sheds rot.only prevent extremes in temperature but also an
excessive- evaporation; and, as Prof. Milton Whitney has shown, sheds
increase the amount of soil moiisture during a drought. As this way
of growing conserves the soil moisture, it in a way replaces irrigation,
but the two go together to produce the i nest types of fruit every year.









That land which never suffers from drought is apt to be too wet during
a rainy season, and there are very few fields that would not be bene-
fited every year by judicious application of water.
The cost of a shed prohibits its profitable use for the lower grades.
Common or small fruits will doubtless continue to be produced stead-
ily in the open field for many years. The average man will consider
it a better investment to put out 5 acres in the open than to put out 1
acre under shed, as the two investments are approximately the same.
It will be best to continue to produce a large amount of common fruit
as cheaply as practicable for the bulk of the market and some fine fruit
for-those who have the money and the inclination to pay for it.
Cost of shed.-The expense of erecting a shed will vary with the
location and the cost of the material and the labor. The maximum
cost should not exceed $600 per acre and it seems impracticable to erect


















FIG. 4.-Pjneapple shed built of boards and planks, showing road at left, ways in foreground running
at right angles to road. (After Webber, Y. B., U. S. Dept. Agr., 1895, p. 270, fig. 62).

a substantial shed for less than $325 per acre, even under the most
favorable circumstances.
The methods of building the sheds vary about as much as the
material at command will permit. All agree, however, in leaving as
much space between individual pieces of the covering material as that
material is wide, thus allowing one-half of the sun's rays to pass
through. This is. done merely because this happens to be an easy
way of constructing the cover. The cover should not be less than 61
feet from the ground and it is preferable to have about 7 feet in the
clear. If plastering laths are used the cover may be 6 inches lower
than when boards are used. (See fig. 4.)









The following statement gives approximately the amount of lumber
needed for building a lath-covered shed for about an acre:
39S posts (368 for top, 30 extra for sides) 4 inches by 4 inches by S feet.
204.pieces (160 for top, 44 for two sides) 1I inches by 14 inches by 20) feet.
900 pieces (84- for topi 60 for two sides) 1I inches by 14 inches by 15 feet.
80,000 laths (75,000 for top,.5,000 for side.) j inch by 1 inch by 4 feet.
The above amounts to about 7,000 feet of lumber, exclusive of the
laths. All material must be free from knots and of first grade. The
amount of limber can be still further reduced by using galvanized
wire instead of the 1. inch by 1 inch by 15 feet pieces, and weaving
Sthe laths in this, as in case of building a fence of the same material.
It does not seem practicable to make any further reduction in the
amount of lumber used and still have a shed that will withstand the
elements for a number of years. In the above shed the posts are set
9A feet by 1- feet apart, and the material covers a trifle over an acre
in d square form. .
The following bill of lumber will cover an acre in the.square form,
giving a shed similar.to the one illustrated in fig. 4.
d463 pbsts 4 inches by 4 inches by'9 feet.
266 stringers 2 inches by 6 inches by 16 feet.
5,900 boards 1 inch by 3 inches by 16 feet for cover.
450 boards 1 inch by 12 inches by 16 feet for sides.
This giv:es.n total of slightly less than 35,000 feet, of lumber. The
posts are set T- feet, by 15 feet apart.. If the stringers are to be braced,
as indicated iu fig. 1, it will take -196 pieces (2 inches b-y 4 inches by
16 feet) more. The cross. s.tringers (shown .in fig. 4) are-omitted.
The boards used for covet Whld the line of p6sts. in place firmly; and
by cutting a notch.in the top of the post to rest. the 2 by i3 inch
stringers it will be held in place. '.So far as the strength of the lumber
is concerned, the posts might be set. 10 by 20.feet apart, but. this dis-
tance gives considerable annoyance from the warping of. the covering
material.
The cost of erecting a shed varies with the type of shed put up and
the ability of the superintendent. The labor will cost about $25, and
the incidental expenses will be a few dollars for such things as locks,
hinges, tools, etc., not including the cost of the nails or wire.

TREES FOR SHADE.
This side of the protection question has not received thei'earnest
attention that it deserves. The writer has seen repeatedly the beneri-
cial effect from the presence of cabbage palmettoes. They not only
seem to protect the pineapple plants from the cold of winter, but to be
an advantage to the crop in the summer. Hard-wood trees that have a
deep taproot frequently grow in the midst of a pineapple plot without







46

any apparent bad effect and with considerable protecting influence.
It is not probable that such conditions would continue indefinitely,
since the fertilizer applied to the pineapple plants would sooner or
later draw some of the feeding roots of the tree to the surface, and
thus divert the fertilizer applied for the use of the pineapple plants.
Besides the fertilizer taken from the soil, the trees absorb mor'or less
moisture, which would be of some detriment to the crop during a dry
season, at least.
That trees and shrubs have a bad effect upon pineapples under cer-
tain conditions can not be' denied. Pineapple plants set out alongside
of a strip of woods show the bad effect very soon, but this difficulty
may be remedied by digging a trench between the native growth and
the pineapple plants. This cuts off the feeding roots of the trees and
keeps them from taking the plant food and the moisture from the field
crop.;
-Mr. 0. F. Cook, in Bulletin No. 25, Dihision of Botany, United
States Department of Agriculture, brings forth very strongarguments
for the belief that the good effect produced by planting trees in coffee
plantations is to be accounted for by the fact that nitrogen-gathering
trees, such as belong to the order Leguminose, add fertility to the
soil rather than by the direct effect of shade upon the coffee plant.
The writer has seen pineapples growing under royal ponciana trees
without bad effect upon the pineapple plants. That shade is desirable
for the production of the best fruit of pineapples seems to be well
established. 'If in addition such trees as the rain tree, the royal pon-
ciana, etc., can add sufficient nitrogen to the soil, it will greatly reduce
the cost of producing the finer grades of this fruit. The building of
sheds is the greatest expense, and, aside from plants, the cost of ferti-
lizer- the 'next most important: consideration. If, therefore, a shade
can be produced by the use of leguminous trees, as the rain tree or the
royal ponciana, and they at the same time supply the amount of
nitrogen needed, it will greatly reduce the cost bf producing the liner
varieties of pineapples.: '
SBY-PRODUCTS.
The industry of raising the fruit for market is so remunerative that
no earnest attention has been given by the pineapple growers to the
use of the by-products.
Some attention has been paid to the preparation of extract for fla-'
voing and for medicinal purposes, but this was not for the purpose
of using up a waste product, but for the direct profit of selling the
extract. The pineapple digester, mentioned on a former page, is an
indication of some of the uses t6 which the surluis fruit may be put
if there should occur an oversupply.
Marmalade.-Small fruits and ill-shaped and defective specimens
may be prepared and worked up into marmalades, or what is some-









times called preserves." For preparing and preserving in thih-man-
ner see discussion under the head of Canning."
Pineapple fiber.-The plant after maturing a fruit gives rise to one
or more suckers and later in the season dies to become a waste
in the field. In this form it is of very little use except that it forms
a sliht, covering as a mulch. During the dry season it may even
become a source of danger from accidental fires.
The following quotation in regard to pineapple fiber is taken from
Mr. C. R. Dodge's paper in the Reportof the Secretary of Agriculture
for 1893, page 5S1:
Experiments with the fiber were only preliminary, but as fargas they went. were
most satisfactory. The fiber yields readily to machine manipulation and comes out
white and clean without washing by simply drying in the sun after being extracted.
The deeideratum is an economical means of extracting the fiber, and as there are
oveit?20,000 leaves to the ton it will be seen at the outset that the economical machine
will be one that takes quite a quantity of leaves at a feeding. The machine used by
the Department. at Cocoanut Grove was inadequate from the commercial standpoint,
as only a few leaves could be extracted at a feeding. It. produced almost perfect
fiber, however, and enabled us to attain the object of the investigation, viz, the
determination of the quality and yield, although without regard to cost.
There are said to be about 60 pounds of.fiber in a ton of green leaves-
about double the amount in a ton of green ramie stalks. The fiber
has many qualities that give it superior merit, and it will doubtless be
used some day in the textile industry.












With the Compliments of

the writer













Notes on Citrus Investigation in Florida;

By P. H. Rolfs,
Florida Experiment Stlaion.

I. COMMISSION TO FIX A CHEMICAL STANDARD FOR THE DETER-
MINATION OF MATURITY OF CITRUS FRUITS.

During the year 1911, the Florida legislature, in its biennial
session, passed a law prohibiting the sale and transportation
of immature citrus fruits. In a general way this law has been
spoken of as the "green fruit' law."Proper penalties and
methods of procedure, as is common in such cases, were a por-
tion of the enactmenfi. The session of the legislature occurred
during April and May. At that time there was, of course, no
immature citrus fruit in Florida which was at all likely to be
shipped, consequently when this law came up before the legis-
lature no one in the state seemed to be particularly interested
in amending it or changing it in any way.
During May of that year the Florida Horticultural Society
was assembled in annual session at. Jacksonville. The ques-
tion came up on the floor of the Horticultural Society as to
what stand the organization would take in reference to the
"green fruit, law." 'The matter was discussed to some extent
on the floor but. there seemed to be no particular enthusiasm
against the passage of the law, everybody taking forgranted
that it would be a good thing to have a law that would pro-
hibit the transportation and sale of immature citrus fruit.
A resolution endorsing the proposed law was overwhelmingly
carried,and the actionof the Society immediately telegraphed
to the legislature as a further means of helping along the pas-
sage or the green fruit. bill.

THE CARRYING-OUT OF THE LAW.

SBetween the time of the passage of the lawand the time that
t.he fruit was maturing on the trees almost nothing was heard
in regard to this new law, but when the fruit began to mature
Sin the fall and the earlier varieties were arriving at thepoint
where they were about three-quarters grown, some interest









30 STANDARD FOR MATURITY OF CITRUS FRUITS..


Swas manifested as t.o what would be the effect of the law; and
before the earlier varieties were really mature the agitation
and discussion rose to about fever heat, the Florida Citrus
Exchange being arrayed on the side of enforcing the "green
fruit law" and a portion of the independent shippers arrayed
on the side of ignoring or setting it aside.
At this juncture a very natural condition became apparent,
demonstrating how human nature plays an important part.
in the regulation of commerce and in the regulation of human
action. It was impossible to find anybody in the state who
Swas not. in favor of enforcing the "green fruit law" so long as
it. regulated the shipment of the other man's fruit, but when
it. came to one's own premises he immediately became-the
only authority on the question as to what was imnmature fruit,
and if anyone differed as to opinion he was immediately
assigned to membership in the Ananias Club. This difference
in opinion led to a considerable amount of acrimonious dis-
cussion in the papers, and was promptly followed by litigation,
shipments of fruit being held up and the owners thereof cited
to court, fined, and naturally appealing their ca-es, thus
staying the execution of the law. '- -
When it came to the matter of-enforcing this "green fruit
law" it soon became apparent that nowhere in law books,
court procedure, text-books or scientific works could be found
the definition of what was immature fruit. Consequently
the courts seemed somewhat powerless in deciding this ques-
tion, and juries likewise had no great predilection for estab-
lishing a line of demarkation between maturity and imma-
turity.
S THE STANDARDIZING COMMISSION.
In July of 1912, Conunissioner of Agriculture MIcRae
appointed certain persons of scientific standing as a commis-
sion to meet and formulate a definition for mature citrus fruit,
or to point out the line of demarcation between mature and
immature citrus fruit.. This commission consisted of Pro-
fessor H. H. Hume, president of the Florida State Horticul-
tural Society; State Chemist R. E. Rose; Dr. E. R. Flint,
professor of chemistry at. the State University; Prof. S. E.
Collison, chemist to the experiment station; and P. H. Rolfs,
SDirector of the experiment station.










STANDARD :ORB MATURITY OF CITRUS FRUITS.


Immediately upon appointment the various members of the
commission consulted literature on this subject, and brought
together all the technical information that could be obtained.
In addition to the published literature on the subject, the
commission had before it sixty-two analyses of oranges made
by a private laboratory in Philadelphia and two hundred and
eighteen analyses of oranges made by chemists in Baltimore.
After holding two meetings and discussing the matter.fully,
the commission made a report, to Commissioner of Agricul-
ture McRae as to its findings. The report had the unanimous
approval of the members of the commission. As it was, very
brief I will give the findings.
"First. All round oranges showing a field test of 1.25 per
cent or more of acid, calculated as citric acid, shall be con-
sidered as immature.
"Second. Provided, however, that ifthe grower (or shipper)
consider the fruit mature he shall have the right to appeal
from the field test to the State Chemist for chemical analysis.
and if this chemical analysis shows that the percentage by
weight of the total sugar, as invert sugar,:be seven times or
more than the weight of the total acid as citric acid, the fruit
shall be deemed mature.
Third. That the juices of not less than 5 average oranges
-shall be mixed, from which a composite sample shall be drawn
for the field test. -
"Fourth. That the juices of not less than 12 average
oranges shall be mixed, from which shall be drawn a composite
sample for laboratory analysis.'".
After securing these findings by the technical men compos-
ing the commission, a convention of growers was called, who
met in Gainesville, August 15, to receive this report. Pre-
vibus to the meeting of the citrus growers it had been gener-
ally held by those who wished to have a high standard that.
the ratio of acid to sugar should be one to seven. The com-
mission, therefore, introduced somewhat of a novelty in the
report when they found that citrus fruit may be considered
mature at any time when the amount of citric acid present
in the juice is less than 1.25 per cent. The citrus growers
were ready to accept the findings of the commission, but made
some amendments to the report of the commission T'he










32 .CONTROL OF INSECTS BY PARASITIC FUNGI.

following two brief amendments were made, which to some
extent changed the findings of the commission, but did not
materially alter them. :
First ametndut.,ii. "Resolved, that it is the sense of this Con-
venton that the report of the Commission shall be adopted,
and shall obtain until the 5th day of November:in each and
every year; provided, that. after the 5th day of November in
each and every year the standard shall be 'that if each orange
is two-thirds its total area colored yellow, it shall be con-
sidered as mature and fit for shipment.'".
'Scond a(nZendiocil. That no variety of oranges or grape-
fruit shall be allowed to be shipped before October 1 of
each year that has bloomed during that calendar year."
This, it seems to me, makes a somewhat unique departure
from the general way of determining when fruit is mature.
I thilk it is the only time when a state has actually made a
chemical standard the basis for determiningthe maturity of
any fruit.
II. CONTROL OF SCALE INSECTS AND WHITEFLY BY
PARASITIC FUNGI.'
The question of control of insects by means of natural ene-
mies has received much attention, at times attaining to what.
we might call notoriety. In America the matter has been
given probably more serious and systematic study than any-
where else in the world; at. least. this would seem to be the case
from a study of the literature.
Among the workers along this line may be mentioned
Doctors Snow, Forbes, and Burrill. Much work hasbeendone
by each of these-men, but. for want of time and opportunity
the follow-up work could not be continued, and consequently
much of the good has been lost. '
In Florida the climatic conditionsseem especially favorable
to the use of such methods for the control of gregarious insects,
especially those belonging to the families Coccidae and Aley-
rodide. Insects that lead a more solitary life do not lay
themselves open to vulnerable attacks to the same degree as
insects that. are inclined to be gregarious and live a stationary
existence during a portion of their life cycle.
The period of this work in Florida began in about 1894,
when Doctor Webber discovered a parasiticAschersoniaof the










CONTROL OF INSECTS BY PARASITIC FUNGI. 33

whiteBly Aleyrode.s. About the same time the writer dis-.
covered a fungus Sple,'os'ilbi coccophiila, parasitic upon San
Jos6 scale. This discovery was not accidental but was the
result of giving a considerable amount of time and study to
determine the cause of a natural mortality among San Jose
scale. The observations were published, and were received
with an unusual amount of incredulity.
F !FUNGI WIDELY USED IN FLORIDA.
Nowhere else in the world have fungi been so widely and
successfully used for the control of insect pests as in Florida.
I have already called attention tothe fact. that climatic condi-
tions are especially favorable to the spread of insect diseases.
Peculiarly enough, the particular forms of insects which are
most advantageously controlled in this way are very abun-
dant in the state. The species are numerous and the indi-
viduals belonging to the species are likely to be present in
excessive numbers when conditions are favorable to their
health.
The rainy season occurs in the summer time when the tem-
perature is highest, producing an atmosphere that may be
likened to the air in a moist chamber. The condition of
growth of the trees is likewise such as to produce an abundance
of shade and further reduce the evaporation that would occur
from radiation. With the intense sunlight comes abundant
development, of foliage. The sunlight, however, does not
become so severe as to be a deterrent to the development of
foliar spread. Under these natural conditions the introduc-
tion and dissemination of fungi become an easy matter com-
pared with the conditions in regions where the atmosphere
may be dry during the warm portion of the year or cold
during the moist portion.
These natural conditions being present and favorable to the
growth of fungi, the experiment station has encouraged so far
as possible the development of private enterprise for the dis-
semination of scale and whitefly diseases. During the spring
and summer of 1909 one man alone with his helpers treated
127,W00 citrus trees with Aschersonia spores to produce dis-
aes among whitey. This work was done under contract
it. two cents ,er tree treated. This, compared with spraying










34 CONTROL OF INSECTS BY PARASITIC FUNGI.

with insecticides, was a very light cost, since spraying t.he
same trees wit h insecticides would have cost about twenty-five
cents per tree. During 1910-11 we do not have the record as
to the number of trees treated, but it. would go up into the
millions .
The introduction of fungi for scale insects is carried on in
a somewhat different way from the introduction of the fungi.
against whitefly. Diseased scales are introduced into healthy
colonies. This can be most: easily accomplished by trans-
ferring sprigs or pieces of branches upon which diseased scales
occur. Placing these in contact or.nearly so with the healthy
scale readily transfers the disease, while rains, dews and other
conditions do the rest.
Naturally in the introduction of diseases there is an oppor-
tune and an inopportune timeatwhich to do the work. Under
advantageous climatic conditions little difficulty is inexperi-
enced; under adverse climatic conditions the work has to be
repeated. The experiment station has carefully worked out
the details connected with the successful introduction of the
various fungi. At times rather long periods occur when the
fungi are not. readily introduced, or there may be other condi-
tions existing in the grove which militate against the rapid
spread of the insect diseases. During such periods it becomes
important to use the ordinary artificial remedial measures.
As these details, together with the names of different species
of fungi, as well as the names of the species of host insects,
occur in the experiment station bulletins, I will not burden
my hearers "ith reciting them here.

REASONS FOR FAILURES.
The most important and serious reason for failures with, our
work has been lack of scientific knowledge as to what condi-
tions were favorable and what were unfavorable for thie rapid
development of diseases among the insects. There is: no
difficulty in securing the infections, though often in this line
the beginner has more or less trouble. After studying the
question for a decade aria half or more, and doing so in a
technical and systematic way, many, facts have been brought
together. These can now be so formulated that the average
layman can make use of the information. Many times, how-









CONTROL OF INSECTS BY PARASITIC FUNGI. 35

ever, it is difficult fdr.the non-technical man to understand
that the processes must be carried out exactly as directed by
the scientific man. The laryman will not understand why
some other method, some short cut, which apparently accom-
plishes the same work, will not do just as well.
Another reason for the lack of popularity is the fact that
zealous people have over-advertised this method of controlling
pests. This is not so likely to be the case with the scientist,
since he is likely to undlr-advertise his discoveries, but the
popularizer of scientific material is likely to induce the layman
to believe that all he has to do is to introduce the fungus
spores and then go away and leave them, and the fungus will
,do the rest. These same persons would not be likely to advo-
cate that it waspossible to raise a citrus grove by simply sow-
ing a few orange seeds here and there in our pine-woods or
hammock, yet their imagination leads them to believe that
this kind of careless work will be all right with the "invisible."
Under the old methods when the difficulties of securing a
large infection were not well understood, it frequently hap-
pened that thlie introduction of the fungi gave negative results,
and this naturally led to condemning the method.
OPPOSITION TO THE METHOD.
At first glance it would seem.as though it was ridiculous
to talk about there being any opposition to this method of
handling agricultural pests. However, the scientist needs
but to start in the field and he will find that there is real live
opposition to it.
The advance agent of the spray manufacturer at once sees
that when scale insects are eliminated from the- grove by
natural means his sales of spraying machinery must neces-
surly lie reduced. Consequently he makes it his business to
repeat and re-repeat all the stories of failures and supposed
failure. It is not unusual to find a layman who considers the
introduction of fungus diseases a failure long before he infec,
tion has had time to kill off the first lot of insects that were.
infected, and long before the fungi have had time to fruit and
make secondary or tertiary infection.
Along it.h the spraying-machine man comes also the
-manufacturer of insecticides and hisneents. Theirbusinessis










36 CONTROL OF INSECTS BY PARASITIC FUNGI.


necessarily interfered with as soon as the natural methods for
the control of scale insects are advocated; and since the profits,
especially on the proprietary brands of insecticides, are quite
considerable, they naturally believe that handsome stories
must be told to keep up the popularity. of their particular
brand.
Singularly enough, from.a source entirely unexpected.
opposition comes from old-line entomologists. For the most.
part these men have been trained in regions where climatic
conditions are not favorable to the introduction and spread of
fungus diseases of insects. The literature has been pretty
thoroughly reviewed by them and studies made of the situa-
tion, their deductions being based on experiments and work
done under conditions quite different from those occurring in
Florida and to some extent along the rest of the Gulf Coast.
These entomologists, as a rule, come into -the field_in' a scep-
tical state of mine, if not indeed in a prejudiced one, and not
infrequently miss the point altogether by their want of famili-
arity with the fungus side of their question.
Under the conditions it has been necessary for the experi-
ment station, practically single-handed, to disseminate the
information and to establish this method of handling scale
insects and whitefly. Like all other methods of handling
these pests it must be used with discretion and with knowl-
edge. There are conditions under which the method will
succeed only indifferently and Where lhe artificial methods of
control should be used.








Rhodes Grass'



Off. No. 252
Seed was received in; April '09, from Washington, D.C. S ed was.:
sown on April 12tn an.d good stand was obtained. By July plants
were about 3 ft. high. Bunches were well developed by August.
tr seeded heavily during Septeiriber. Was i il2ed to the ground by
37 deg. during December.*: Began to sprout in Marchi 910. Was
cut for nay in July, 3930, then 4 ft. high. H-~, was excellent.
Second cutting was made in Septelmber, auout 3 ft. high, aid.- in
Nov. it was in b3oomii a:aln. Was killed to the ground during the.:,:.
winter of 1910-11. Was 4- ft. high in June, 293], and was cut
for hay in July.,. Another cutting was made in October. It was
killed during the winter of 933-32. Young growth was killed
back by .3 deg. In March 19124. Was cut for hay in June, 193' :4
the fo]3owing summer (193 ) two cuttings were made but' trie hay was
inferior. .P3ar ts begaa to die .and were discarded in fa3l of 1935.

Off No. 3 629, S I.l 896 .
Seed was received 1: .Apri2,.8,1916, and, sown on April 26th.
Fair stand was. obtained; it was'in bloomi in July, and cut for hay;
another cutting was made in September. Tops were killed by 26
deg. in December and plants were killed to tne ground by 37-deg.
Feb. 3. and. 4, ..193 7, but roots were not injured. Began .to sprout
in March ( 7) .. :
A seconJi sowing wasmade from tthis seed in Julyr: 1936, .ut
stand ws poor. '

Seed of NQ.252 co3 ected on grounds was sown in 19.1., 3 91 ,:
and 1935. :; In 2931 an d 3914 sowings seed did not germinate pro b-
ably due to drought. The 3915 sowing was successful and a good.
stard was obtained.
T a mp a
Seed received from Crenshaw Bros. Seed.*Co./in 1914 .f ailed
to germinate..

'- * .*:''" : :: :. .: . :. .


.*