The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1905-12-15
[NEAPPLE
| CULTIVATION
resting Communication From
Pen of J. A. Ankeney.
bW FRUIT IS RAISED
!. Prepared for Southern Rura''st
.od won fifth Prize. OF interest
Principal, to Noo-Res'den's'

% following article was written by
Anten-y. of Eldrcd for the south
pnraist won the nth prize in Il
sst recently, and We reproduce 1t,
for the information of our residents
srs familiar with the growth Of
onnlss but for the homeseekers
prs now in our vicinity and for
. who are looking this way for Il
Ma i East Coast of Florida, and par
larlv the Indian River and Lake
IN sections, have to some extent be-
famous for the quality and guam
of pineapples they produce, Cuba
the Bahama Islands ship year after
hundreds of steamer loads of this
TO our northern markets, and OF
wears it has been feared that these
htries would seriously interfere with
nroduct, but the Indian River pine
: still holds its reputation for the
est sweetest and most marketable
of its kind. The growers Of this
ntry have learned the scientific way
ARE for their fruit and they lead in
o-date methods Of culture. Fertiliz-
has been studied from a scientific
Adboint and the results have been
Yen in the fruit, far superior in carry
qualities and flavor to that OF our
nd neighbors,
The pineapple plant grows somewhat
a century plant, but its leaves are
e similar to the leaves of an orchid.
he uninitiated it may be well to state
a pineapple does not grow on Il pine
as some of our tourists are sur
ed to discover. The apple itself is
shown by crimson blush ON the
TART" leaves of the old plant and in
lew weeks a well-shaped, tiny pink
eapple appears. This grows upward
, stalk from four to eight inches
I, changing It's pink color for one of
ZEN. When the fruit is fully matured
ready to pick for shipping, it is Of
eep wine color and from that it vii
b ripen to the yellow, AS commonly
n. The old plant dies and new ones
ed suckers develop at its base. These
kers have the root power of the old
nt and grow very rapidly. bearing
following year. As from two to
= suckers sprout from each old root,
he course of a few years unless some
Re been removed, there will be three
four times as many plants on the
und as We're original planted,
he original settings of field are
lerally suckers or slips, although
crowns or taps to pineapples are
netimes used, Slips are small plants
sprout from the fruit stalk around
base OF the pineapple. When the
PIE is picked they are left to grow
be planted later in the summer OF
two or three being the average
noer OF them to pineapple. The
plants are set out in squares 70
pes apart and carefully "scuffled"
cultivated with hand cultivators for
ear Each summer and fall they are
Utilized
Inc f1rst crop comes two years from
tlme OF planting and should average
m zoo to 300 crates per acre. The
Vestlng season commences in June
lasts for about six weeks. Each
mery has its packing house in whic h
crate material is stored, the crates
ue and the apples brought there in
eeloarroWs, tram-cars or wagons,
packed, Of course, different grow
nave different ideas of what width
oeds is best, but generally Is or 20
y are planted before trail OF
.a left. The beds may be as long
;ae land is suitable for. To pick the
IT, one man called a picker or break
walks through the beds lengthwise
losses the apples to roller" in
pain, who wheels them to the pack
mousse, and places them carefully in
n, .m or table with six inch sides
y; ABOUT waist high, where they can
s'aed, wrapped and placed in crate.
ss.aIuard sizes are Is, "a, 30, 80, A.
like other fruits, there are a number
varieties, the more common being
"O s cayenne, Abbaka, Queen, Porte
N, anu Ned Spanish. The latter are
W. UNIVERSAL W use, having been found t.
Sss. '"s pest satisfaction for all pur,
! 1 R, Iaking it all in all, the pineap
n BUSINESS Is a very interesting as vel
n p,Ca.aole industry in this great food
Iwpp rn world of ours, and only toe
no r So Know the process of it's cul
q 'o inherent from northern farm