THE PINE APPLE. 85 



for a few weeks, the insects, in the course of that 

 time, were totally destroyed, many of them lying 

 dead on the leaves and fruit. In the spring-time, 

 before this operation, the plants had been strewed 

 with sulphur, which, at least, is a harmless dressing 

 to plants of any kind, and probably may be of use 

 in preventing insects from breeding numerously, or 

 the means of depriving them of part of their natu- 

 ral food. This circumstance, however, I just here 

 mention, because, from experiments which I have 

 tried since then, it is probable that the effluvia aris- 

 ing from flour of sulphur, being scattered on the 

 leaves, or about in the hot-house, in conjunction 

 with heated air and moisture, may more suddenly 

 destroy insects than heat and moisture alone ; but 

 it ought to be remembered, that if sulphur be by 

 any means set on fire in a confined place, among 

 plants of any kind, it will either totally destroy or 

 greatly injure them. 



" Being satisfied with my success in the above- 

 mentioned experiment, of having totally destroyed 

 the insects on these plants without hurting them, 

 I hesitated not to begin to water the whole of the 

 plants under my care, whenever they wanted it, all 

 over their leaves and fruit, with water about 85 

 degrees warm. This process I continued to prac- 

 tise for several months, during which time I do not 

 recollect that the thermometer was ever below 70, 

 and in sunshine it was raised sometimes to up- 

 wards of 110 degrees. I continued this practice 

 longer perhaps than was absolutely necessary, but I 



G 3 



