This tropical fruit is so-called from its resemblance in form and
appearance to the cones of some species of pine. Its botanical name
in most general use is _Ananassa sativa_, but some botanists who do
not regard it as distinct from _Bromelia_, call it _B. ananas_. _The
Bromeliaceæ_, to which it belongs, are a small family of endogenous
plants, quite closely related to the canna, ginger, and banana
families, and differing from them in having nearly regular flowers and
six stamens, all perfect. As the pineapple has become naturalized in
parts of Asia and Africa, its American origin has been disputed, but
there is little doubt that it is a native of Brazil, and perhaps some
of the Antilles, now a part of the domain of the United States. This
fruit is a biennial, with the habit of the Aloe, but with much thinner
leaves. In cultivation it early produces seeds but, in ripening, the
whole flower cluster undergoes a remarkable change; all parts become
enormously enlarged, and when quite ripe, fleshy and very succulent,
being pervaded by a saccharine and highly flavored juice. Instead of
being a fruit in the strict botanical sense of the term, it is an
aggregation of accessory parts, of which the fruit proper forms but a
very small portion.
The first pineapples known in England were sent as a present to Oliver
Cromwell; the first cultivated in that country were raised in about
1715, though they were grown in Holland in the preceding century. The
successful cultivation of the fruit was early considered one of the
highest achievements in horticulture, and the works of a few years ago
are tediously elaborate in their instructions; but the matter has been
so much simplified that anyone who can command the proper temperature
and moisture may expect success.
For many years pineapples have been taken from the West Indies to
England in considerable quantities, but the fruit is so inferior to
that raised under glass that its cultivation for market is prosecuted
with success. The largest fruit on record, as the produce of the
English pineries, weighed fourteen pounds and twelve ounces. Better
West Indian pineapples are sold in our markets than in those of
England, as we are nearer the places of growth.
The business of canning this fruit is largely pursued at Nassau, New
Providence, whence many are also exported whole. The business has
grown greatly within a few years, and now that the United States is in
possession of the West Indian islands, exportations may be expected to
increase and the demand satisfied.
More than fifty varieties of the pineapple are enumerated. The plant is
evidently very variable, and when South America was first visited by
Europeans, they found the natives cultivating three distinct species.
Some varieties, with proper management, will be in fruit in about
eighteen months from the time the suckers are rooted. The juice of the
pineapple is largely used in flavoring ices and syrups for soda-water;
the expressed juice is put into bottles heated through by means of a
water bath and securely corked while hot. If stored in a cool place it
will preserve its flavor perfectly for a year. The unripe fruit is very
acrid, and its juice in tropical countries is used as a vermifuge. The
leaves contain an abundance of strong and very fine fibers, which are
sometimes woven into fabrics of great delicacy and lightness.
Nor is it every apple I desire;
Nor that which pleases every palate best;
'Tis not the lasting pine that I require,
Nor yet the red-cheeked greening I request,
Nor that which first beshrewed the name of wife,
Nor that whose beauty caused the golden strife.
No, no! bring me an apple from the tree of life.
C. C. M.
[Illustration: PRESENTED BY LOUIS G. KUNZE.
PINEAPPLE.
1/2 Life-size.
COPYRIGHT 1899,
NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.]