THE PINE-APPLE. 13 



as being the more useful, I will not describe any of 

 these varieties that I cannot recommend. In my own 

 practice, I have found the Queen, Smooth Cayenne, 

 Charlotte Eothschild, and Prince Albert the best and 



freest-fruiting. 



SOIL. 



Dr Lindley, in his ' Theory of Horticulture,' says, 

 " We are informed by Beyrick, that the pine-apple in 

 its wild state is found near the sea-shore the sand 

 accumulated there in downs serving for its growth as 

 well as for that of most of the species of the same 

 family. The place where the best pine -apples are 

 cultivated is of a similar nature. In the sandy plains, 

 Praya Velha and Praya Grande, formed by the re- 

 ceding of the sea, and in which few other plants will 

 thrive, are the spots where the pine-apple grows best." 

 Although the soil in which the pine-apple is found 

 growing in its native or wild state cannot be taken 

 as an absolute guide, still the fact that sand is its 

 native choice would of itself serve to teach the cul- 

 tivator that a heavy clayey soil, having a strong 

 attraction for water, is not likely to be the most 

 suitable for the healthy growth of pine-apples. I 

 believe that practice has set its- seal to this ; at 

 least my experience leads me to recommend a fibry 

 calcareous loam in preference to that which all gar- 

 deners know as a heavy and tenacious loam. That 

 in which I have grown the best pines was taken from 

 the surface of a rocky crag, and was very full of fibre. 

 It should be collected and stacked for twelve months 

 before it is used ; and a few months before being 

 required for potting, put into a dry airy shed, breaking 

 it up or teasing it with the hands not separating a 



