364 General Notices. 



readers to notice his remarks on what he considers the " practical" interest 

 of the experiment, viz : the necessity of a low night temperature in forcing- 

 houses of all kinds. To our cultivators, however, the communication is of 

 greater importance ; as, under our burning sun, during summer, there is no 

 doubt of the perfect ripening of the pine apple, and other fruits, if the 

 plants could only be stowed away from danger of frost in winter, and then 

 set out in properly prepared beds, or pits, in summer, exposed to the sun 

 and air. The subject is one which we shall refer to again ; for the present, 

 we have not room to say more. — Ed. 



The name of Bicton will long be associated with important experiments 

 in the cultivation of the pine apple. The latest which has come to our 

 knowledge has had for its object a demonstration of the possibiitiy of ripen- 

 ing this fruit in the open air during our summer. 



We learn from a statement, which Lady Rolle has been so obliging as to 

 put into our hands, that in May last Mr. Barnes, having some plants ready, 

 although the weather was unfavorable, opened a trench, casting the earth 

 right and left, so as to form a bank on each side, which he imagined would 

 afford some shelter from cold winds ; in the bottom of the trench he placed 

 bricks in threes, in the form of a triangle, so as to make a dry bottom for 

 the plants to stand on, and, at the same time, to secure a ready passage for 

 air and water. The plants, having been placed on the bricks, were packed 

 to the rims of the pots in tree leaves, which had been used dunng the win- 

 ter in and about hot-beds. This being done, the whole surface, banks and 

 all, was covered with charred hay or grass, which Mr. Barnes considered the 

 best material for absorbing heat, retaining it, and giving it off gradually ; 

 in which expectation he has not been deceived, for although the weather 

 proved cold at intervals, stormy and windy, with frosty mornings, and many 

 dark sunless days, yet no injury was sustained, and when the sun did ap- 

 pear the fruit made great progress ; at the same time the suckers which 

 sprung up grew vigorously and were most healthy. The varieties of pine 

 apple employed in this experiment consisted chiefly of Queens, together 

 with Black Jamaica, Montserrat, Enville, Moscow Queen, Anson's Queen 

 or Otaheite, and Black Antigua, &c. The plants employed had never 

 been subjected to fire heat at any time. They were turned out after they 

 had blossomed. 



A pine apple thus produced has been placed before us by Lady Rolle, 

 and we can state that it was a Queen, of excellent quality, weighing three 

 pounds fourteen ounces, although from having been cut several days it had 

 lost some ounces. It was perfectly well swelled, with the exception of a 

 small portion below the crown, which was " blind ;" this did not, however, 

 prevent its being a handsome table fruit. 



It thus appears that so tender a fruit as the pine apple may be enabled to 

 bear full exposure to the air of May, June, and July in this climate, by a 

 little judicious management. The cold winds were kept off by banks 

 thrown up across (we presume) the prevailing currents. The want of a 

 sufficient amount of earth heat was compensated for by a " lining" of leaves 

 still capable of fermentation. And then, by covering the scene of the ex- 



