Proceedings of the Horticultural Society, 167 



his subject in a philosophical, as well as practical manner, and fully 

 described the mode to be followed of making the calculations re- 

 quired in determining the quantity of apparatus necessary to raise 

 a house to a given temperature. We trust to have an opportunity 

 of saying more upon this subject when Mr. Tredgold's paper shall 

 have been printed in the Transactions of the Society. 



August I9th. 

 An account was read from Mr. Knight of the method he prac- 

 tised in growing pine-apples without the aid of tan. It was stated 

 from the chair that the paper had been accompanied by specimens 

 of pines cultivated in the manner described, which were exceedingly 

 well grown and high-flavoured. We chance to know this to be 

 strictly true, having had an opportunity of seeing these pines ; and 

 we have no difficulty in stating that they were not only unexcep- 

 tionable in every respect, but very uncommon specimens of excel- 

 lent cultivation: they were handsome, heavy, well grown, extremely 

 high-flavoured, and remarkably tender, which last quality all 

 growers of pines know to be the most difficult of all to attain. We 

 were particularly glad to hear this paper read, because it served at 

 once to silence an ignorant clamour that has been raised against 

 Mr. Knight's attempts at deviating from the routine of cultivation 

 which certain persons have thought fit in their wisdom to prescribe. 

 It has been pretended that pine-apples cannot be cultivated suc- 

 cessfully without the aid of a tan-bed, as if there were some magic 

 in that material, or as if they had such a medium to root in when 

 wild. Nature has provided nothing for the support of pine-apple 

 plants but heat, fight, moisture, and the ordinary principles which 

 all vegetables derive from the soil. These can be administered 

 with the greatest accuracy artificially, and without a tan-pit ; all 

 that can be said of the latter is, that it is a clumsy contrivance to 

 do that which we can effect far better without it. It may serve to 

 screen the blunders of gardeners, or to save them trouble on one 

 hand, while it certainly doubles both trouble and risk on the other; 

 but nothing can be so absurd or unphilosophical as to say that such 

 an agent is necessary to the cultivation of any thing. 



