ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE PINE-APPLE. 303 



state of the sap of the plant ; and this, as it does in all other similar cases, 

 led to the formation of blossom-buds and of fruit ; and it thus operated 

 upon some pine-apple plants to such an extent as to cause even the scions 

 from their roots to rise from the soil with an embryo pine -apple upon the 

 head of each, and every plant to show fruit in a very short time, whatever 

 were its state and age. 



Very low temperature, under the influence of much light, by retarding 

 and diminishing the expenditure of sap in the growth of the plants, 

 comparatively with its creation, produced nearly similar effects, and 

 caused an injuriously early appearance of fruit. 



Very high temperature, if accompanied with a sufficiently humid 

 state of the atmosphere, I found beneficial at all seasons of the year 

 under a curvilinear iron-roofed house ; for this admitted as much 

 light even in the middle of winter as the pine-apple plants appeared to 

 require. 



Many months previously to the publication of Mr. Daniel's very excel- 

 lent communication in the Transactions of this Society (Vol. VI. page 1), 

 and without being in any degree acquaintedwith his opinions, I had placed 

 unglazed shallow earthen pans upon the flues of my curvilinear-roofed 

 stove, such as he has recommended, nearly in contact with each other ; 

 and I had increased the dampness of the air within the house by keeping 

 the ground, which is not paved, constantly very wet. The effects of 

 excess of humidity in the air of the house were, as might have been 

 anticipated, diametrically opposite to those which had resulted from 

 drought ; and the plants grew so rapidly as to become soon too large 

 for the spaces allotted to them, without indicating at any season of 

 the year a disposition to show fruit. By subjecting these plants to the 

 influences of the drier atmosphere, their exuberance of growth was 

 soon checked; and the production of fruit immediately followed in 

 every season of the year, provided that a sufficiently high temperature 

 was given, 



I have never cultivated the white Providence pine-apple, because I 

 never thought it worth culture ; nor any of the large varieties, excepting 

 a very few of the Enville ; and I have scarcely ever had a plant which 

 has not fruited within less than twenty months of the period at which the 

 sucker was taken from the parent plant ; and the suckers were invariably 

 taken off at the same time with the fruit. The utmost horizontal space 

 which I have ever allowed to any plant has not exceeded twenty-three by 

 twenty-four inches during the latter half of its life, and less than half that 

 space during the preceding part of it ; and I in consequence have never 



