262 OUR COMMON FRTJITS. 



they must be regarded as exotics, France stands next to 

 England in the successful management of her pineries : 

 the fruit may be obtained in the shops of Paris through 

 every week of the year, and at Versailles they are equal 

 in excellence to any that John Bull can produce. In one 

 or two of the southern provinces of Spain they are grown 

 in the open air ; but the Italians prizing the dolce far 

 niente beyond any other sweet in nature, even the nec- 

 tareous pine cannot compete with it, and London, in his 

 tour through continental gardens, found this fruit quite 

 a rarity in their country. A few there were in the royal 

 gardens at Portici, and a few again in the Pope's gardens, 

 but even these were but sickly, yellow-leaved monuments 

 of neglect. Energetic Sardinia, indeed, in this as in all 

 other things, has been ahead of its fellows, for as long ago 

 as in 1777 its king sent a gardener to England to study 

 the culture of the Ananas, who on his return published 

 a tract detailing what he had learnt, and giving the plan 

 of a pine-pit ; but the climate is so dry that an extra 

 supply of water becomes necessary, and sufficient atten- 

 tion not being paid to this, the plants do not thrive so well, 

 and the fruit is but small. 



In Prussia, most of the best fruits now grown there 

 were introduced by the Great Frederic, who was pas- 

 sionately fond of them, as may be judged from his letters, 

 when Crown Prince, to Voltaire, in which he speaks of 

 his " dear garden," and says, " I burn with impatience to 

 see again my vineyards, my cherries, my melons." The 

 pine being his special favourite, he had large numbers 

 grown in pits, to keep up a continual supply, and the 

 state of his pinery was one of the last subjects that -occu- 

 pied his ever-busy mind before he was himself gathered 

 by the great Reaper, for on his dying bed he inquired 

 after the ripening of one of the fruits from which he had 

 promised himself a farewell feast. In Baden there are 

 pines on the Grand Duke's table every week throughout 

 the year, and besides 400 cut annually for the dessert, 

 about 300 more are used every year for the purpose of 

 making wine, which is of a very delicious quality. " Car- 

 dinale" too, which figures at high festivals in some parts 



