uit is
with us; but, in my opinion, it is not desirable to keep the plants so
long in the same ground, as the finest fruit is always obtained from
comparatively young plantations, the older ones producing too large a
proportion of small fruit. From the Brisbane district this fruit has
spread all over the eastern coast, and its production is increasing
rapidly in several districts. Once the pine is planted, its cultivation
is comparatively simple. If in single or double rows, all weed growth is
kept down between the plants, and the ground between the rows is kept in
a state of good cultivation by means of ploughing or cultivating, the
soil being worked towards the rows so as to encourage the formation of
suckers low down on the fruiting plants. Manure is given when necessary,
the manure being worked in on either side of the rows.

[Illustration: Smooth-leaved Cayenne Pines in fruit, planted 15 months,
Woombye District.]

The pineapple comes into bearing early, and, except where suckers throw
fruit as soon as planted, bear their first crop in from twelve to twenty
months, according to the type of suckers planted and the time of year at
which they are set. Practically every sucker will produce a fruit at the
first fruiting, and these will be followed by succeeding crops, borne on
the successive crops of suckers, so that when the whole of the ground is
occupied by plants, the returns are very heavy. One thousand dozen
marketable fruits is by no means an unusual crop for Queen pines in a
plantation in full bearing, and, taking these at an average of 2-1/2 lb.
each, you get a return of 30,000 lb., or 15 tons American per acre. The
illustrations herewith give a good general idea of the usual method of
growing pines, and the method of handling and marketing, as well as of
the nature of the country on which they are grown. The illustrations
are mostly of smooth-leaved pines, which bear a fruit averaging from 6
to 8 lb. each, but occasionally running up to as much as 14 to 16 lb.,
though the latter is an extreme weight. The single pine shown is just
under 12 lb. Several kinds of pines are grown, which are generally
classified into roughs and smooths. The rough, or rough-leaved pines,
such as the Common Queen and Ripley Queen, and local seedlings raised
from them, are very prolific, and though not equal in size and
appearance to the smooth-leaved Cayenne, our principal smooth-leaved
kind, are usually considered to be of superior