ANA 



high, fo that there is jufl heiglit enough for per- 

 folis to walk upright on the back-fide of the bark- 

 bed. Others make but one flope of glaflcs, from the 

 top of the flove down to the plate, which lies about 

 fix or eight inches abovx the bark-pit, fo that in the 

 front of this ftove, there is no walk made between the 

 bark-pit and the glafles ; but the inconveniency of 

 watering the plants, as alfo of coming near thofe 

 plants which are placed in the front of the ftove to 

 clean them, has, in fome meafure, brought them into 

 difefteem, fo that few perfons now build them, tho' 

 the expence is much lefs than of the other kind of 



ANA 



day, may dellroy all the plants, or at leaft fo fcakT 

 them, that they will not get over it in feveral montha. 

 It will be alfo very proper, in extreme hot weather, 

 to fhade the glafles in the middle of the day witL 

 mats i for the glalfes, lying fo near to the leaves" of the 

 plants, will occanon a prodigious heal at fuch times. 

 During the fummer feafon thefe plants muft be fre- 

 quently watered, giving them but little each time ; 

 and in hot weather, they muft have free air admitted 

 to them every day, from ten o'clock till four ; for 

 if they are kept too clofe, or have too much wcr, 

 they will receive a check in their growth, when the 



ftoves ', but of both thefe ftoves the figures and de- infefts will immediately fpread over them ; for there 



fcriptions which are hereafter exhibited under the ar- 

 ticle of ftove, will be fufficient for any perfon to build 

 either of the forts. One of thefe ftoves about thirty- 

 five feet long in the clear, with the pit or the tan 

 reaching from end to end, and fix feet and a half 

 wide, will contain about fourfcoure fruiting plants ; 

 fo that whoever is defirous to have this fruit, may 

 cafily proportion their ftove to the quantity of fruit 

 which they are wilhng to have- 

 But it will be alfo neceflary to have a bark-pit under 

 a deep frame, in order to raife the young plants ; in 

 which you fhould plunge the fuckers, when they are 

 taken from the old plants, as alfo the crowns which 

 come from ^he fruit, fo that this frame will be as a 

 nurfery to raife the young plants to fupply the ftove : 

 but thefe plants fliould not 'remain in thefe frames 

 longer than till the beginning of November, unlefs 

 the frame is built witli brick-work with flues in it to 

 warm the air (in the manner hereafter defcribed and 

 figured), which are very ufeful, as nurferies, to keep 

 the young plants till they are of a proper fize to pro- 

 duce fruit ; fo that you may keep thefe either warmer 

 or cooler than the ftove, accordmg as the plants may 

 require, fo that the ftove may be every autumn filled 

 only with bearing plants, whereby a much greater 

 quantity of fruit may be annually produced, than can 

 be where young and old plants muft be crowded into 

 the fame ftove. But where there are no conveniences 

 of this kind, the young plants, about the middle or 

 latter end of Odlober, muft be removed into the ftove, 

 and being fmall, may be crowded in among the larger 

 plants 'y for as they will not grow much during the 

 winter feafon, they may be placed very clofe together. 



March 



removed 

 prepared 



night before, that the tan may have acquired a proper 

 heat : but you fliould be careful that the tan be not 

 too hot, for that might fcald the fibres of the plants, 

 if they are fuddenly plunged therein. Therefore if 

 you find the bark too hot, you fliouId not plunge the 

 pots above two or three inches into the tan, letting 

 them remain fo until the heat of the tan is a little 

 abated, when you fliould plunge the pots down to 

 their rims in the bed. If the nights fliould continue 

 cold after thefe plants are removed into the bed, you 

 muft carefuUy cover the gJafl^es with mats ; otherwife 

 by coming out of a warm ftove, they may receive a 

 fudden check, which will greatly retard their growth, 

 therefore muft be carefully avoided-, becaufe the fooner 

 the plants are fet growing in the fpring, the more 

 time they will have to gain ftrength, in order to pro- 

 duce large fruit the following feafon. 

 You fliould not plunge the pots too clofe together in 

 this frame, but allow them a proper diftance, that the 

 lower part of the plants may increafe in bulk, for it 

 is on this that the magnitude of the fmit depends ; 

 becaufe wlien the plants are placed too clofe, they 

 draw up very tall, but do not obtain ftrength •, fo that 

 when they are taken out of the bed, the leaves are 

 not able to fupport themfelves ; but all the outward 

 long leaves will fall down, leaving the fmaller middle 

 leaves naked, and this fometimes will caufe them to 

 rot in the center. You muft alfo obferve, when the 

 fun is very warm, to raife the glaflies of the hot-bed, 

 in order to let out the fteam of the bed, and to admit 



frefli air ^ for one ncgleft of thb kind, in a veiy hot 



are generally fo.me of thefe infers on all thefe plants, 



which do not much injury to them while they are in 



a growing ftate ; but whenever they are unhealthy, 



the infeds multiply greatly, and contribute to their 



decay. ^ There are fome perfons wlio regulate thelieat 



of their ftoves by thermometers in fummer, but at 



that feafon this is unneceflary, for the outward air in 



hot weather is frequently greater than the Ananas heat 



marked on the thermometers, fo that the heat of the 



ftoves at that feafon will be much greater. The ufe 



of the thermometer is only in the winter, during the 



time the fires are continued, by which it is eafy to 



judge when to increafe or diminifti the fires ; for at 



that feafon, the ftoves fliould not be kept to a greater 



warmth than five or fix divifions above Ananas, nor 



fuffered to be more than as many divifions below it. 



In winter the plants muft have lefs water, but they 



will require to have it repeated once a week, giving 



them but little each time : when the plants are placed 



into the tan for the winter feafon (which fliould be 



done about the beginning of O6tober) the tan-bed 



one third of the old. 



ig two thirds or r 

 this be well mixe 



new tan is good, the bed will maintain a proper de- 

 gree of warmth till February, at which time it will 

 be proper to ftir * up the bed, and add a load or two 

 of new tan, fo as to raife the bed as much as it funk 

 fince the autumn ; this will give a frefli heat to the 

 bed, and keep the plants growing •, and as the fruit 

 will now begin to appear, it will be abfolutely necef- 

 fary to keep the plants in a growing ftate, otherwife 

 the fruit wiU not be large. , ^ 



In April it will be proper to ftir up the tan again, 

 and if the bed has funk fince the laft ftirring, it will 

 be proper to add fome frefli tan to it ; this will renew 

 the warmth of the bed, and forward the fruit. At 

 this time it will be proper to ftiift the young plants, 

 which are defigned to produce fruit the followin 

 year ; the tan-bed into which thefe are plunged mu„ 

 be renewed, in 'order to forward their growth, that 

 they may have ftrength enough in autumn to pro- 

 duce good fruit, for in this is the principal care re- 

 quired. 



Thofe plants which fliew their fruit early in Febru- 

 ary, will ripen about June ; fome forts are at leaft a 

 month or five weeks longer in ripening their fruit than 

 others, from the time of the appearance of the fruit : 

 but the feafon in which the fruit is in greateft perfec- 



tion, 



March 



J 



I have frequently eaten this fruit in pretty good per- 

 fection V but then the plants ~ have been in perfect 

 health, otherwife they feidom are well flavoured. 

 The method of judging when the fruit is ripe, is by 

 the fmell, and from obfervation ; for as the feveral 

 forts differ from each other in the colour of their 

 fruit, that will not be any dirciStion when to cut them i 

 nor fliould they remain fo long as to become foft to 

 the touch before they are cut, for then they become 

 fiat and dead, as they do alfo when they are cut long 

 before they are eaten, therefore the fureft way to have 

 this fruit in perfection, is to cut it the fame day it is 

 eaten ; but it muft be cut early in the morning, be- 

 fore the fun has heated the fruit, otherwife it will be 

 hot, obferving to cut the ftalk as long to the fruit as 

 pofllble, and lay it in a cool, but dry place, preferv- 

 ing the ftalk and crown unto it, until it is eaten. 



N That 



