748 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



merous as those of the apple and pear. Miller, in sowing the seeds, found a variety of 

 sorts produced from the same fruit ; and Speechly mentions, that he raised in 1768 above 

 seventy plants, from seeds sent to the Duke of Portland from the West Indies, most of 

 which varied in some distinctive circumstance, either in their leaves or fruit. Many 

 of these fruits turned out of inferior quality, probably from the seeds having been 

 gathered indiscriminately. Seeds are not usually produced in this country ; when they 

 occur it is generally in those pines which blossom in August, and ripen their fruit in 

 December. {Buck, in Hort. Trans, iv. 535.) The most esteemed varieties in present 

 cultivation are — 



Green, or St. Vincent's pine. A rare va- 

 riety ; when ripe the fruit is of an olive 

 hue", middle-sized, and pyramidal. 



Black Antigua. The fruit is shaped like 

 the frustum of a pyramid; leaves of a 

 brownish tinge, and drooping at the 

 extremities, with strong prickles, thinly 

 scattered. The pips of the fruit are 

 large, often an inch over ; and it at- 

 tains a large size, weiehing from three 

 to four pounds It is of a dark color 

 till it ripens; very juicy, and high 

 flavored. 



Black Jamaica. The fruit is large, and 

 the plants similar in character and 

 habits to the above. 



Providence pine, or new providence. 

 There are two varieties, the white and 

 green ; the fruit is larger than that of 

 any of the kinds cultivated in this 

 country ; the form inclining to pyra- 

 midal; the color at first brownish- 

 grey, but when mature of a pale-yellow 

 The flesh yellow and melting, abound- 

 ing with quick lively juice. Speechly 

 produced in the gardens at Welbeck, in 

 1794, a fruit that weighed five pounds 

 and a quarter, or eighty-four ounces, 

 and from a plant that was not a large 

 one. Griffin had, in 1803, two plants 



S laced under his care, which fruited hi 

 uly 1804, the fruit of one plant weigh- 

 ing seven pounds tnv minces, and the other 

 nine pounds three ounces, avoirdupois. 

 This sort, and the two preceding, re- 

 quire generallv three years, and some- 

 times four or five to produce their fruit. 

 AMiat is called the old providence, is a 

 small fruit from one of the Bermuda 

 islands of that name. 



Blood red ; fruit equal in bulk at both 

 ends. Tips of moderate size, color 

 brick red ; flesh white and opaque ; 

 leaves of a changeable hue ; the flavor 

 of the fruit being inferior to that of most 

 others, this is to l>e considered merely 

 as a curious variety. (Hort. Trans, iv. 

 214.) 



Silver-striped queen. Leaves beautifully 

 striped with white, yellow, and red ; but 

 the plant, though elegant, is a reluctant 

 fruiter. 



Variegated-leaved pines. Besides the 

 striped-leaved queen, there are several 

 sorts with beautifully varied leaves and 

 fruits, and some with red or brown 

 leaves ; but in general they are tardv in 

 fruiting, and more to be considered as 

 ornamental than as useful varieties. 



New sorts. Pine plants are frequently 

 imported from the West Indian islands, 

 and in this case generally bear their 

 names. Jn general, however, these 

 plants are far inferior, both as to kinds 

 and condition, to those grown, and to 

 be procured from nurserymen in this 

 country. They are generally infested 

 with the bug," and very uncertain in 

 their time of fruiting, as well as to their 

 flavor. If these were to be enumerated, 

 the list of pines known in this coun- 

 try would amount to upwards of forty 

 sorts. Specimens of above thirty sorts 

 are grown in the gardens of Gunter, 

 at Karl's-court. The globe pine-apple, 

 a subvariety of the queen, was sent to 

 Russia, above thirty years ago, by Lod- 

 dige, and is now reim ported under the 

 name of the Russian globe. (Hort.Trans. 

 v. 265.) 



505 



The old queen. Fruit oval-shaped, and 



of a gold color. Esteemed the hardiest 



kind, and fruited in fifteen or eighteen 



months. The fruit grows to a large 



size, often weighing from three to four 



pounds. It is much more certain of 



showing fruit at a proper age and season 



than most of the other sorts, and has a 



just preference in most hot-houses. 

 Ripley's new queen. A subvariety of 



the old queen, with a large elegant 



fruit ; fruited also in an equally short 



period. 

 Welbeck seedling ; fruit small, generally 



broader at the head than at the base ; 



of a pale yellow, or sulphur color, with 



very flat pips ; flesh white and tender, 



rich in flavor, with less acidity than is 



found in most other pines. (Hort.Trans. 



iv. 213.) 

 Pyramidal, or brown sugar loaf. Cone- 



"shaped, and dark-colored till it ripens ; 



the leaves brownish, and flesh yellow. 

 Prickly striped sugar-loaf. Cone-shaped, 



the fruit of a golden color, the leaves 



striped with black or purple lines. 

 Smooth striped sugar-loaf; similar to the 



above, but the leaves not pricklv. 

 Havannah. Tankard-shaped; dark-co- 

 lored till it ripens. 

 Montserrat. The leaves of a dark-brown, 



inclining to purple in the inside; fruit 



middle sized and tun-shaped, and the 



pips or protuberances of the fruit being 



larger and flatter than in the other 



kinds. 

 King pine, or shining green. The leaves 



of a grass-green, the pulp hard and 



rather stringy, but of good flavor when 



ripe. 



4787. The insects which more especially in- 

 fest the pine are, the broivn turtle bug (Coccus 

 hesperidum, L.) (Jig. 505. a to e . The female 

 has at first the appearance of a flat scale (a) ; 

 afterwards, when depositing its eggs, it becomes 

 fixed and turgid (b) ; these eggs (c) are hatched 

 under the mother, who soon afterwards dies; 

 the young insects, seen under a magnifier, 

 appear like turtles in miniature (d). Only 

 the males (e), which are few in proportion to 

 the females, have wings ; these devour nothing, 

 and having performed the office of impregna- 

 tion, die. 



4788. The white scaly bug (C hesp. var.) 

 (f to I) bears a considerable resemblance to the 

 above ; but the scale (/) is somewhat smaller . 

 the color is white, and the males or flies (I) not so large as those of the brown. 



4789. The ivhite mealy cnmson-tinged bug (C. hesp. var.) (n and m) _ differs from the 

 former in being larger and crimson-colored. Speechly considers it as viviparous. This 

 and the former species are much the most pernicious. The various modes of destroy- 

 ing them, and also the other insects which attack the pine, have been already detailed. 



Subsect. 2. Grape-Vine. — Vitis Vinifera, L. (Jac Ic. i. t. 50.) Fenian. 

 Monog. L. and Viticece, J. Vigne, Fr. ; Weintrauben, Ger. ; and Vigna, Ital. 



4790. The grape-vine is a trailing, deciduous, hardy shrub, with a twisted irregular 

 stem, and long flexible branches, decumbent, like those of the bramble, or supporting 

 themselves when near other trees, by means of tendrils, like the pea. The leaves are 

 large, lobed, entire, or serrated and downy, or smooth ; green in summer, but when ma- 

 ture, those of varieties, in which the predominating color is red, constantly change to, or 

 are tinged with some shade of that color ; and those of white, green, or yellow grapes, as 

 constantly change to a yellow, and are never in the least tinged either with purple, red, 

 or scarlet. The breadth of the leaves varies from five to seven or ten inches, and the 

 length of the foot-stalks from four to eight inches. The flowers are produced on the 

 shoots of the same year, which shoots generally proceed from those of the year preceding : 



