IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CULTURE OF 



have been led to draw from writings upon the 

 ture of the Pine Apple, I have constantly found 

 that my plants succeed best in the part of my house 

 where the flue first enters,- and where the temper- 

 ature is very high, varying from about 85 to 105, 

 and the air excessively dry. I have pointed out 

 this circumstance to every gardener, whom I have 

 seen in my house, and all have expressed their 

 astonishment at the circumstance. I expected that 

 this excess of heat would have occasioned the 

 plants to show fruit prematurely, but this has not 

 occurred in a single instance. What would be the 

 quality of the fruit, if it were to be ripened in so 

 high a temperature, I have not yet had an oppor- 

 tunity of knowing. 



" In raising young plants, I have deviated from 

 the ordinary mode of practice by breaking off the 

 suckers when very young ; that is, when they are 

 not more than four or five inches long. The fruit 

 is much benefited by their absence ; and the cut- 

 tings, if placed very close together in a hot-bed, are 

 made to emit roots with little trouble, and afford 

 better plants than they do when they are suffered 

 to remain long upon the parent stem. When the 

 whole are removed at an early period, one or more 

 very strong suckers usually spring outbelowthe level 

 of the soil ; and from these, suffering only one to re- 

 main attached to the parent stem, and preserving the 

 roots as entire as possible, I have propagated with 

 much advantage, and have obtained plants which 

 showed fruit strongly at seven months, dating from 



