The Portland daily press., 1894-06-01
PINE-APPLES IN FLORIDA.
A Business that is Rapidly Increasing
The Mitten Industry Flourishipg Because
Pine-AppIes Must Be Handled With
Mittens On.
Correspondence of the Press. !


Jensen, Fla, May 2S-Mittelis in mid
sun,merl The combination seems in
congruous. yet the traveller up and down
the Indian River at this season of the
year-and it is practically midsummer in
Florida already-is constantly confronted
this; Mites! Mittensl Single 25 cents,
double 3d." If he is new in the country
and if he has any curiosity he will learn
upon inquiry that these mittens are not
for keeping off the cold but for protect
ing the hands of the pine apple pickers.
Sometimes they are displayed in lines
strung across the store and they are
queer things to look at -rudely shaped
gauntlets of coarse white duck or can
vas, long enough TO reach from the finger
tips to the elbows, and provided with a
pocket" for the fore finger as well as
for the thumb. A protection of some
kind is absolutely necessary for the pine
apple picker, the long, narrow leaves of
the plant bristiing about the apple in
the winter and their edges being as sharp
eNh>A toHSSiooo 90 saw -UOGUu. Ii GS6
mittens are so far the best device known
for the purpose. The picker has both
hands mittened; with the left he seizes
the plant an picks away the leaves from
the fruit, while with his right he twists
off the apple from the stalk, being care
full to leave the nsuckers"which grow in
circle all about its base. These suck
ers are used for setting out new plan
tations and are in great demand all
through the pineapple country after the
crop is off and marketed: "Singlen and
double" refer to the thickness of the
mittens some of them being made of
two thickness of canvas TO insure extra
protection.
Harvesting of the pineapple crop is Just
beginning on the lower East Coast of
Florida The plantations extend along
the Indian river from Titusville south
ward to Jupiter, along the shore of Lake
Worth through the fertile lands border
ing on Bay Biscayne and the waters
tributary to it, and out upon the KEYS
as far as Key West With the exception
of a comparatively small acreage in
Polk, De Soto, Monatie and Lee
counties on the other side of the PENN
sula, those East Coast productions con
stitute the pineapple area of Florida.
AS yet the Biscayne Bay growers and those
on the keys have no transportation for
their "pines" except by boats and small
scbooners, but the new railroad has pen
etrated as far south AS West Palm Beach
on Lake Worth, and this saves all the
way from 36 to SO hours in transporting
the. fruit to market. AS general thing
the railroad runs close to the planta-
tions, in many instances cutting them
in two, and in cases where the crop is
large side tracks have been built for
the convenience of the shippers.
The pine apple crop Of the Florida
East Coast-not including the keys-is
estimated this year all the way from
10000 to 5000 crates. these crates are
in size about that of the regulation
orange box, but in weight they will
average when filled with npines" over
twice as much. The freight agents fig
ure on about 100 pounds to the crate, or
$50 crates to the car. But sometimes
nearly 200 crates are slowed away in a
car, If cars are scarce. The average
mum Der OF plneapp1es to the crate is GA,
but the fruit varies in size, some varie-
ties growing very large and heavy.
A conservative estimate of this year's
crop is about so, 600 crates, or fully s. 200.
900 pine apples. Last years crop was
about $4,000 crates, and the largely
increased acreage coming into bearing
this season led to estimates Of the ,op
early in the season AS high as ~, oO0
crates or double that of 1898 But of late
there has been a scarcity of rain and in
consequence the fruit is late in maturing
and in all probability the size and ounIi-
ty of it will be slightly inferior to last
years. AS transportation facilities are
better this season than last the fruit will
undoubtedly roach market IN better con-