PINE APPLES TOP AND BOTTOM HEAT. 



'59 



quarters span-roof, with the ends running east and west. A small house, with a plunging 

 bed along the front and a path at the back, as in B, answers well for propagating and 

 growing the plants till shifting them to the fruiting pots ; then they should be trans- 

 ferred to the succession house, a three-quarters span-roof not so wide and high as for 

 fruiters, with a central bed, and front and back paths, as in E, Fig. 44, dotted outline. 

 When starting the successional plants into fruit, they require the larger structure, E. 

 Provision is made in this and all the structures for supplying the heat at a low tempe- 

 rature as compared with that usually given, and this we find better for the plants and the 

 most economical. Where oak, Spanish chestnut, or beech leaves, or tan are easily 

 obtainable, they may be advantageously utilised for supplying bottom heat, but it is 





Fig. 44. THREE-QUARTERS SPAN-ROOF AND SPAN-HOOF FRUITING HOUSES. (Scale : J inch = 1 foot.) 



References ; E, three-quarter span-roof fruiting house : p, top lights ; q, front lights ; r, shelves; s, 4-inch hot- 

 water pipes for top heat ; t, plunging bed ; u, hot-air chamber, with 4-inch hot-water pipes ; v, pit if bottom heat 

 be had by leaves or tan, u being omitted and 4-inch hot-water pipes ; w, provided to augment the bottom heat ; 

 x, paths ; y, potting shed ; z, hot- water pipes. F, span-roof fruiting house ; references the same as E. 



advisable to provide hot-water pipes in a chamber (w) to maintain the heat when that of 

 the fermenting material declines, especially in the case of fruiting plants. A heated 

 shed (y) is a necessary adjunct for having the potting material in proper condition, 

 and preventing checks to plants when removed from the beds. 



If the plants are grown in span-roof houses, the successions require a lower one than 

 the fruiters by about 18 inches, as shown in the outline in Fig. 44 F, 2 feet narrower, 

 yet with front and back passages, and a central bed. The house, F, will accommodate 

 the larger all fruiting plants. 



Top and Bottom Heat. The pine apple requires a high temperature during the 

 greater part of the year, particularly in some of its stages of growth, and the means 



