River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-01-31
Where Pineapples Grow.

A letter from the island of Eleuther,,
IN the Bahama group, written to the New
York San thus describes the cultivation
of the pineapple: That the soil of Eleu-
thera should yield such an abundance of
delicious plneapples, is matter of Won
der TO person who has been used to the
fertile lands of the United States. One
who has never been on a coral island can
form but the faintest notion of the exceed
ing roughness Of the surface, and migrate
full aspect of the ground. The island 0
Eleuthera, which furnishes such vast num-
bers of pineapples, is, indeed covered by
wild vegetation, in the main, while the
earth from which it springs is, in great
part of the toughest conceivable charac-
ter of rock Holes of every size, form
and description, some of them partly or
wholly filled with dirt, the debris of de-
cayed vegetation, loose fragments, large
and small, round and angular, sharp and
hard, everywhere abound. The rock
sticks up its singing points and cutting
edges in the most irregular and provok-
ing fashion. No plough, no spade no
hoe can here be used. The only thing
that can here be done is to stick a sprout
into one of the holes and let it take care
of itself, which it almost invariably does
right we'll for it likes that kind of soil,
and sips its sweet nourishment from the
little dirt it may happen TO find in the
hollow of the rock.
The holes are very close together, the
sprouts are placed scarcely foot from
each otter, and as the plant grows up 1T
spreads its long, sharp, hard leaf blades,
with edges armed with little rasping,
saw-like teeth, up from the ground and
abroad in every direction. The plant has
thick supply of these outbending
leaves, Tapped closely one over the other
near the ground, and out of the centre of
which comes up the fruit, one pineapple
only to each plant, which then perishes,
and leaves behind a progeny of young
sprouts, and these being stuck in the hol-
lows insure new crop for the succeeding
year This replenishing can be kept up
for about six years, and then the whole
field about exhausted, is left to itself, the
plants die out, in the course of time the
soil is renewed, and fresher fields now
demand the care of the pine grower.
The only attention given 20 the plant
is to keep the field clear of weeds, and
that is almost daily work the year round.
One negro man can attend to about two
acres. The worst weeds to contend with
are species of bidens, a plant very well
known in the United States, as Spanish
needles, and kind of crab grass One
object of placing the plants so close to-
gether is to give the pineapple possession
of the soil, and the weeds little chance of
usurninp the ground. The first sight of
pine field is astonishing, for it presents
broad intricate tumble. OF vast mass
of interlacing leafy sword blades, and the
first impression is that such ajam ofvege-
tation womld be utterly incapable of pro
ducing any fruit whatever, whereas the
fact is, the acre properly attended to yields
tho enormous number of ten to twelve
thousand pineapples.
There is another enemy, no less Tor
midable than the weeds that requires
looking after very sharply, and that is
the rat, which attacks the fruit Just as 1t
is about to ripen. If no measures were
taken TO prevent the depredations OF
these troublesome creatures, very few
pincapples indeed would escape their
destructive Jaws The planter has a
remedy. Sweet potatoes are cooked, and
while they are vet hot, the sulphur ends
of common matches are broken oft and
introduced into them. The phosphorus
is diffused throughout the substance OF
the potatoes, and these being placed
among the principle plants are eaten by
the rats, which almost Immediately fall
dead from the effects OF the poison