May 15, 18S6. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTtlEB AND COTTAGE GAilDENEB. 



363 



are magnificent ; still I miss my old friends sadly, removed 

 from me — or from whom I am removed. — W. F. Radclyffe, 

 Oke/ord Fitzpaine. 



THE PINE APPLE, 



AND MR. THOMSON'S TREATISE ON ITS CULTIVATION. 



(Concluded from pai/e 3-11.) 

 After some prefatory remarks on the introduction of the 

 Pine Apple into this countiy the author at once proceeds to 

 the subject of Pine-houses, and gives diagrams of those which 

 he recommends. These differ little from the structures often 

 met with. For summer use he recommends a span-roof run- 

 ning north and south, for winter a leau-to, and for suckers a 

 common lean-to pit. Hot-water pipes beneath a bed of rubble 

 are in all instances advised for giving bottom heat, and other 

 pipes to warm the atmosphere. The only feature in construc- 

 tion which Mr. Thomson seems to insist upon is a somewhat 

 steeper roof than is often given, in order to insure all drip 

 being avoided. He prefers a number of small houses or pits 

 to one or two large ones, as the proper culture of each section 

 can then be more effectually carried out ; some judicious sug- 

 gestions are also made with respect to a steaming apparatus, 

 or rather the mode of supphdng moisture to the atmosphere. 

 He by no means condemns the old and popular plan of grow- 

 ing Pines on a bed of fermenting leaves and tan ; on the con- 

 trary, he appears to advocate it but for the trouble it gives. I 

 may add that the pits at Archerfield, or at least a part of them, 

 are so heated, and the fruit produced show that the plan suits 

 them. 



In the next chapter are given descriptions of some of the 

 Pines most generally grown, with remarks on theii' merits. 

 Those most approved of by the author are the Queen, Smooth- 

 leaved Cayenne, and Black Jamaica ; but other kinds are spoken 

 of, as Hurst House Seedling, Bennett's Seedling, White Provi- 

 dence, and Charlotte Rothschild. Some other kinds, as the 

 Black Prince, Enville, Antigua, &c., are named as being less 

 recommendable. 



Soil is the next subject treated on, and here there is some- 

 thing on which comment may be made. Mr. Thomson advises 

 a soil containing a large amount of sand. What will our Lon- 

 don friends say, who have so long been of opinion that Norwood 

 loam was so excellent for this purpose ? and what will some of 

 our west-country friends say, who collect their Pine soil from 

 upland moors and the precipitous rocks fringing the coast ? 

 while not a few think the compost cannot be too much en- 

 riched with sheep and deer-dung, and other substances having 

 a tendency to make the soil retentive, and which are, therefore, 

 the very reverse of sand in their effect, and yet good results follow 

 in each case. The subject of soils, however, is by no means so 

 fully understood as it ought to be, and perhaps the mode in 

 which so many of us describe them may lead to an erroneous 

 opinion. A soil containing a large per-centage of sand is re- 

 garded as a light soil, and yet sand is about the heaviest sub- 

 stance bulk for bulk of any of the ingredients that constitute 

 fertihty. A bushel of pure sand is very heavy indeed ; the 

 term " lightness," perhaps, is appUed to it in consequence of 

 the small quantity of water which it will imbibe. On that 

 account Mr. Thomson prefers it, or rather the class of soil 

 which contains a large proportion of it, as being the most 

 suitable for the Pine Apple ; and the production of fruit of 

 Smooth-leaved Cayennes upwards of 8 lbs. in weight, and of 

 Queens weighing more than 5 lbs., with accommodation that 

 ■was by no means the best for the purpose, gives his opinions 

 a claim to respect, these weights not being solitary instances, 

 but of frequent occurrence. Now, on soils less attention has 

 hitherto been bestowed than on other points of Pine-Apple 

 management, and great extremes exist in the kinds used. I 

 have seen the best spit of a pastmre field carefully selected for 

 that purpose, while a friend of mine in the west of England, 

 who grows very good fruit, obtains his soil in rough tufts (more 

 than four-fifths herbage at the time), from the rocks. I am 

 uncertain what is the nature of these rocks, and this, doubt- 

 less, is an important point ; but they are either slate, granite, 

 or Umestone. I have also seen a mixture used in which chopped 

 moss or sphagnum formed quite one-half the material. So 

 many other points tend to modify the action of the soil in which 

 the plant grows that it is difficult to give a decisive opinion on 

 this matter, but I am inclined to think that Mr. Thomson's 

 views are the best. The mode in which he uses it, and other 

 particulars all invaluable to the grower of this fruit, are well 

 explained. I 



The author next commences to detail his course of treating 

 the plants, beginning with the sucker, and the modes which he 

 adopts to obtain a quantity of them where an increased supply 

 is needed. A plain and practical essay on their treatment 

 follows, pots being advised even when they are intended to be 

 afterwards planted out. The next stage arrived at is that of 

 succession plants, and the treatment required by these renders 

 a more lengthened narrative necessary in order to fully explain 

 what is hkely to be wanted of them in future, whether" they are 

 intended for summer or winter fruiting ; and the propriety, nay 

 almost necessity, of having separate compartments for them is 

 pointed out, as weD as the proper treatment to pursue in each 

 case. A careful perusal of this chapter cannot be otherwise 

 than useful to the young gardener whose experience in the 

 cultivation of this fruit may not have been extensive, while 

 there is much in it well worthy of the attention of those in 

 everyday practice. The condition of the ball of the plant at the 

 time of repotting, and what to do with it, are next dealt with, and 

 the all-important subject of heat, both top and bottom, is fully 

 discussed ; then follow remarks on summer and winter ma- 

 nagement, occupying several pages, in which due attention is 

 bestowed on watering and other points of management, and 

 the reader now arrives at that important feature the treatment 

 of the fruiting plants. 



It is more especially at this stage that Mr. Thomson urges 

 the necessity of having two or three compartments, so as to 

 give the different sets of plants the treatment necessary to en- 

 sure their fruiting at the proper time ; and by doing this Pines 

 may be had aU the year round. In most cases Mr. Thomson 

 recommends a sort of period of rest prior to starting each set 

 of plants into fruit, this period differing according to circum- 

 stances. The varieties most suitable for starting at different 

 seasons are also stated, and the whole sj'stem of management 

 lucidly explained, particularly as regards heat ; and directions 

 for the application and withholding of water are given in 

 language that cannot be misunderstood. 



Closely following the section just noticed is one on retarding 

 the fruit, and keeping that which is ripe as long as possible — both 

 matters well worthy of consideration, though not more so than 

 that which is treated of in the next division of the work — viz., 

 How to keep up a constant succession of ripe fruit all the year 

 round. The author's observations on this subject are so good 

 that I shall extract a short paragraph. After describing the 

 proper time to secure suckers, he says, " In June and July I 

 always endeavour to start a quantity of the true Smooth-leaved 

 Cayenne. This is a noble Pine when well grown, being unsur- 

 passed for appearance and long keeping after it is ripe, and 

 swells better after October than any other Piue I know. The 

 Black Jamaica is also a most useful Pine for winter swelling, 

 and probably is unsurpassed for flavour at the dullest season 

 of the year. The Queen is comparatively worthless as a winter 

 Pine compared to these two ; it does not swell kindly, and is 

 always dry and juiceless compared to them." 



Further remarks on the treatment of the sets of plants in- 

 tended for the different periods are followed by a few notes on 

 such plants as miss fruiting ; and then the author gives a notice 

 of the planting-out system, which, although he does not con- 

 demn it, he does not altogether approve of. He considers that 

 the limited control which the manager has over the plants in 

 this system is poorly compensated by the less amount of trouble 

 which they give as compared with those in pots. This, doubt- 

 less, is true, and may account for there being, perhaps, fewer 

 Pines grown on this principle now than there were ten years 

 ago. At that time I believe those at Trentham were so grown, 

 as well as those at the Royal Gardens, Frogmore, which the 

 author quotes as a good example. However, the mode of 

 management is given that those who may feel disposed to grow 

 Pine Apples on the planting-out system may know how to proceed. 

 Perhaps the only exceptional portion of the work is that re- 

 lating to the insects which sometimes attack the Pine — viz., 

 the white and brown scale, and mealy bug. The writer ac- 

 knowledges never having had to conquer these formidable 

 opponents, and I certainly pity those who have. A remedy, 

 though not Mr. Thomson's, is put forth on good authority, and 

 is said effectually to destroy the white scale and mealy bug 

 without disturbing the plants. I would certainly much prefer 

 clean ones to those so treated ; but if the remedy is effectual 

 the discoverer is entitled to the thanks of Pine-growers. I 

 may, however, remark that the destruction of the white scale 

 is not an impossibiUty, for many years ago a case occurred in 

 my practice which proved that this insect is unable to endure .- 

 what the plant will do. At a place where Pines ■ysjere not grown,; ' 



