THE PINE APPLE* ]6$ 



the period at which the sucker appeared, like a 

 strong head of asparagus, at the surface of the 

 soil. 



" The success of my experiments, in the first house 

 which I erected, (and to which the foregoing ac- 

 count exclusively refers,) led me to erect another 

 house (figs. 18. 19. and 20.) in the summer of 1829- 

 In this I attempted to obtain the greatest possible 

 influence of light, and command of solar heat; 

 inferring, from having observed Pine Apples to 

 ripen tolerably well with very little light, that I 

 should be able to ripen them in perfection late in 

 the autumn, and early in the spring, particularly 

 at the latter period, in which, alone, I set a very 

 high value upon the species of fruit. The height 

 of the back wall (fig. 20.) of this house is eight 

 feet six inches, and that of the front wall is one 

 foot six inches, and its breadth ten feet, inside 

 measure, with an iron curviliar roof, (fig. 18.) of 

 the kind of bar invented by Mr. LOUDON, of Bays- 

 water. This house is fifty feet long, (fig. 19.) and 

 capable of containing two hundred fruiting Pine 

 plants. The curvature of the roof rises just one 

 foot in twelve. The glass is laid in a composition 

 of two parts white lead, with oil, and three of 

 flint sand, and the overlaps of the glass are 

 closely filled with the same material. It is, con- 

 sequently, very nearly air-tight ; and no means 

 are given for the air to enter, or escape, except 

 by apertures immediately under tUe copings of 



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