LESSON 71 THE PINEAPPLE

THE PINEAPPLE

wait-ing laughed cu-ri-ous

pine-cone suck-ers re-plied

a-maze-ment break-fast fac-to-ries

1. "Come along, Jack," said his cousin Ben, "mother wants a few pineapples, so I am going to drive to Mr. Brown's farm for some. Did you ever see pines growing?"

2. "No," said Jack, who had only been a few days in Queensland, "they do not grow on the pine-trees in Scotland. It must be too cold for them there."

PINEAPPLE FARM

3. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Ben at what he thought a good joke. "Pineapples do not grow on trees, Jack, but on plants quite close to the ground. It is quite plain that you are a'new chum.'"

4. "But why are they called pineapples, then," asked Jack, "if they don't grow on pine-trees?"

5. "When we get to the farm," answered Ben, "we will ask Mr. Brown. Come on and help me to put the horse in the cart; I see mother waiting for us."

6. When the boys reached the farm, Jack saw the lower slope of a hill covered with curious round plants. They had narrow, fleshy 〔1〕 leaves, and in the centre of each plant a pineapple was growing. Mr. Brown was busy among his plants; but when he heard that Jack had but lately come from Scotland, he was quite willing to tell him about pineapples.

7. "Pineapples are so called," said he, "because the fruit looks like a large yellow pine-cone 〔2〕 . In Scotland no pine-cones grow quite as large as a pineapple, but one of our Queensland pine-trees has cones which are as large as the largest pineapple."

8. "Do you grow pineapple plants from seed, sir?" asked Jack. "Not as a rule, my lad," replied the farmer. "A few plants are grown from seed by men who wish to raise new kinds of pines, but we farmers grow our plants from suckers 〔3〕 . See, here are some suckers from the root of this pine, just peeping out of the ground. Sometimes we grow fresh plants from the sprouts which you see growing at the base of the fruit."

9. "Pines are pretty plants," said Ben, "but I should not like to fall among them. Those thorns on the edges of the leaves look sharp. How many pineapples can be grown on each stem?"

10. "Only one," said the farmer, "then the stem is cut out; but, as its roots throw out suckers, new plants soon take the places of the old ones. Once planted, a field of pineapples will last for many years."

A FIELD OF PINEAPPLES

11. "On our farm in Scotland we had to plant the ground afresh every year," said Jack.

So we must in Queensland, for many crops, said Mr. Brown, "but on a pineapple farm we have to work hard to keep down weeds; and the ground between the rows must be kept loose, or we should have but a poor crop."

12. "Do pineapples grow in all parts of Queensland?" asked Jack.

No, replied the farmer; "many places have heavy frosts in winter, and the frost kills the pineapple plants. They grow best near the coast, where there is little or no frost, even in the coldest winter."

13. "Did you hear how many pines we sent away last year?" said the farmer, speaking to Ben. "No? Well, we sent five hundred dozen from this field, which is little more than an acre in extent, and this year I expect to gather even more."

14. Jack's eyes were wide with amazement 〔4〕 . "Whatever is done," he asked, "with all the pineapples that are grown?"

Boys and girls eat a great many of them, was the reply. "In the summer a ripe pineapple can be bought for a penny, and no one can buy a breakfast much cheaper than that; besides, ripe fruit is one of the best of foods for the hot weather.

15. "Many hundreds of cases of the fruit are sent to Sydney and other seaports of Australia, while thousands of pineapples are bought by the canning factories, to be packed in cans and sent to other countries."

16. "Oh, yes!" said Jack, "the first time I tasted pineapple was in Scotland, when mother bought a can of tinned fruit. Whole pines were far too dear for us to buy. A very small one would cost half-a-crown."

17. "Well, you are lucky to come to Queensland," said Ben, "but we must hurry or mother will think we are lost. Good morning, Mr. Brown."

注释

〔1〕 fleshy: Thick and juicy.

〔2〕 pine-cone: The fruit of the pine-tree.

〔3〕 suckers: Young shoots thrown out from the roots of plants.

〔4〕 amazement: Surprise; wonder.