JNTRODUCTIOX. 267 



mate as it were by steaiy^ ; bringing on, as in iia- 

 tiue, first spring, and then summer ; making artifi- 

 cial dcv/s and sliowers, to refresh tlie foliage, and 

 nourish the root ; admitting air freely, unless of an 

 im})ure kind ; and ventilating the hot-house fre- 

 quently, to purify it of noxious damps, v/hicli are to 

 all fruits pernicious, especially as they approach to 

 maturity. 



The plants being forced out of their natural incli- 

 niations in a great measiuc, do not perspire so co- 

 piously, nor imbibe nutritive matter from the atmos- 

 phere so abundantly, ^s if they did grow in the open 

 air. Kence it is necessary to compose for them a 

 soil more rich and deep than might otherwise be re- 

 quired, which must be kept in good heart, by the 

 addition of fresh compost, and by the application 

 of i]t manures, from time to time, according to ne- 

 cessity. 



In the culture of plants in an artificial climate, re- 

 gard ought to be had to that of their nativity, which 

 should, c^s nearly as possible, be imitated in the hot- 

 house ; introducing the natural changes of the* sea- 

 sons with equal care. In our variable climate, how- 

 ever, this is done w4th considerable difficulty, and 

 only by a strict attention to the state of the wea- 

 ther ; which may be conceived by considering the 

 ditFerence of latitude, and the variation of the alti- 

 tude of the sun throughout the year ; which varia- 

 tion is greater the nearer we approach to the pole. 



Hence, in the forcing of fruits in succession, the 

 difference of trouble attendant on early and on late 

 forcing. Also, the difference of injury done the 



