August 10, 1871. ] 



JOtJENAL OF HOETICULTDRE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



99 







WEEKLY CALENDAR 



. 















^7 



Month 



"o7 



Week. 



AUGUST 10-16, 1871. 



Average Tempera- 

 ture near London. 



Rain in 



43 years. 



Sun 



Rises. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Mood 

 aeis. 



Moon's 

 Ase. 



Clock 



befure 



Sun. 



Day 



of 



Year. 









r>ay. 



NiKht. 



Mp»n. 



Days. 



m. h. 





m. h. 



m. b 



DavB. 



m. B. 1 



10 



Th 



Royal Botanic Society's Anniversary Meet- 



75.1 



51.9 



tiS6 



19 



4) at 4 



31 af7 



57iifll 



32nf 3 



24 



5 10 1 222 



11 



F 



Birmingham Hort. Show. [ ing, 1 P.M 



75 8 



5U.7 



63 2 



20 



41 4 29 7 



morn. 



34 4 



25 



6 1 ' 223 



12 



S 



Sir William Ho kor diort, 18C5. 



75.1 



51-6 



62.8 



16 



42 4 , 27 7 



S3 



Sll 5 



26 



4 52 224 



18 



Son 



10 Sunday after Trinity. 



745 



60.0 



62,3 



19 



44 4 25 7 



2(1 1 



18 6 



27 



4 42 , 2i5 



14 



M 



Length of night 9h. 22m. 



72 9 



50.8 



61.8 



18 



45 4 2S 7 



17 2 



56 6 



28 



4 81 1 226 



15 



Td 





73.1 



50.0 



6'.6 



17 



4fl 4 21 7 



2i 3 



28 7 



29 



4 -iO 1 iil 



16 



w 



Koyal Horticultural Society, Fruit. Floral, 

 [ and General Meeting 



73.0 



51.5 



62.2 



21 



47 4 j 19 7 



30 4 



54 7 



9 



4 8 1 228 



From obgervations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 74 2 



", and its niRhl, tem- 1 



perature 50.8=. The graateet heat was 9'i\ on the loib, Isi- : uud the lowest cold aS', on the lllh, ls64. The greatoBt fall of rain was | 



l.Uinch. 





I 



PINE APPLE CULTURE AND JUDGING. | 



CCASIONALLY one sees Pine Apples exhi- 

 bited at the meetings of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society, accompanied with the statement 

 that they have been produced within twelve 

 months from the time of potting the sucker. 

 Mr. Perkins, of Stanmore, had two very 

 handsome Queens recently produced in that 

 way. Of course most experienced Pine- 

 growers are aware that much depends upon 

 the size of the suckers when they are taken 

 from the parent plant. I have seen suckers from Pine 

 plants nearly as large as the plants from which they 

 were taken, and under generous and careful treatment 

 these would most likely produce fruit in a twelvemonth, or 

 less. A Pine plant will succeed well in an excessively 

 high temperature combined with a moist atmosphere, it will 

 sooner arrive at maturity ; but it is very questionable if 

 fruit ripened under such circumstances will be of good 

 flavour. Some of our most successful Pine-grosvers main- 

 tain a very high temperature in their houses. My own 

 treatment is opposed to a very high temperature, and as 

 the Pine worthily holds the highest position amongst exotic 

 fruit, a friendly discussion on the best means of attaining 

 the greatest measure of success in its culture would be 

 both useful and instructive. 



Fines are not grown at this place to a large extent, and 

 where the means are limited it is better to aim at obtaining 

 a succession of fruit by starting a few plants at a time than 

 it is to start a houseful, and have a superabundance of 

 fruit for a month or two, and afterwards none f r a long 

 period. The fruit is most valued here at Christmas, and 

 from our small stock of fruiting plants I always manage to 

 obtain a few fruit at that time. I cut last winter about 

 a dozen Smooth-leaved Cayenne and Charlotte Rothschild. 

 As regards flavour, the merits of the two varieties were 

 about equal, but having grown both sorts together during 

 the last six years, upon the whole I prefer the Smooth- 

 leaved Cayenne. The Black Jamaica is superior to either 

 in flavour for winter, but the fruit is generally small, and 

 not freely produced. I have cut this variety over at the 

 level of the pot to induce it to throw up, and have found 

 it start into growth again, and not throw up its fruit for 

 twelve months. There are two varieties of this, as well 

 as of the Smooth-leaved Cayenne, and there is also some 

 confusion with Charlotte Rothschild. The true variety of 

 this has broad leaves of a healthy dark-green colour ; the 

 other has much narrower leaves, and fruit of very inferior 

 quality and size. The true Smooth-leaved Cayenne has 

 likewise much broader leaves than the other. Of the 

 Jamaica, the best variety has also broad leaves of a reddish 

 colour, and the fruit has large pips, and is likewise redder 

 The Montserrat is often grown under the name of Jamaica. 

 The best way to get out of the difficulty, and clear up the 

 confusion that exists, would be for the Roval Horticultural 

 Society to ofier prizes for each sort separately, and to 

 specially invite growers to send fruit. 

 I may briefly state the method of culture pursued here. 

 No. ML— Vol. XXL, New Seeies. 



Smooth leaved Cayenne and Charlotte Rothschild do not 

 produce suckers freely, and as they are valuable they are 

 taken off as soon as they are strong enough, and potted. 

 The Queens freely produce suckers, so that only the 

 strongest of these are selected. I like them to be a foot 

 or 18 inches long before taking them off, and I put them 

 at once in from 6 tn 8 inch pois, according to the variety 

 and size of the suckers The puts should be plunged 

 immediately in a brisk bottom heat, but no water should 

 be given for six doys al'terwarda, for they are liable to decay 

 at the bottom if they are watered at once, especially in the 

 winter. 1 had a very hiie-flavoured Pine from Perniimhuco 

 in January, and wishinji to raise some plants of it, 1 potted 

 three suckers which sprang from the base of the fruit, 

 and, hy aocident, they were, shortly ".Iter potting, watered 

 with tepid rain water, and in less than ten dii,\ s every one 

 of tliem was in a state of pufrefaction at the base, and 

 in a day or two would have bpeii past recovery. I cut 

 every particle of decay clean ofi", repotted iheni in soma 

 sandy material, and placed a small portion of sharp sand 

 round the base of each sucki-r. They all recovered, and 

 have made fine plants. I formerly repotted the plants 

 into 10 and H inch pots, shifting them into 13 ami 15 inch 

 pots to fruit them in, but I now give ihein only one sliift, 

 placing the Queens and Jnmaicas in ll-iuch pots, and 

 Charlotte Rothschild and Smooth-leaved Cayenne in 13 

 and 15-inch pots. 



The compost I use for Pines is turfy loam, to which is 

 added a sixth part of decayed manure, and a small por- 

 tion of pulverised bones and broken charcoal In potting 

 I ram in the compost iirmly with wooden rammers, plung- 

 ing the pots afterwards in a brisk bottom heat, and, aS 

 with the suckers, no water is given until six days at least 

 after repotting Of course the ball of earth and the com- 

 post should be moderately moist at the time of potting. 



This is the best time to add fresh tan to ihe beds, as, 

 after the roots have reached the sides of the pots, the 

 excessive heat that arises from a fresh tan bed, or fresh 

 tan being added to the old, will, if the pots are plunged ta 

 the rim, sometimes burn the roots. I have found the taa 

 iu the beds almost spent, and (hat the temperature had 

 declined to 80°, but by merely adding a few basketfula of 

 fresh tan, and turning the bed over, the bottom heat has 

 been increased to 120°. I always take the precautioa 

 when turning over the tan to plunge the pots only to half 

 their depth, and when the heat has declined I fill up 

 the space to the rim of the pots with fresh tan, whieh 

 will again cause a rise of temperature in the bed. It la 

 not desirable to depend entirely on tan for bottom heat 

 Here the tan beds are about 7 feet wide, and 2 feet 6 iuchea 

 deep, and at the bottom are placed two 3-inch pipes, and 

 piers are built to support iron gratings, so that a chamber 

 is formed of the depth of 10 inches, tims allowing 20 inehes 

 for tan. The desired amount of bottom heat can be ob- 

 tained from the pipes alone, but I fancy a renewal of the 

 tan is conducive to the health of the plants. 



During their season of rest Pine plants should not be 

 excited by very great heat : a temperature of from 66° to 

 60° is, perhaps, the best. When an under gardener I had 

 No. 1198.— Vol. XLVL, Old Sbtoes. 



