THE PINE- APPLE. IS 



crowns. The latter I never use, except in the case of 

 some varieties which are very shy in producing suckers 

 — such, for instance, as the Smooth-leaved Cayenne, 

 and C. Eothschild. Suckers are much more desirable, 

 and grow into strong plants more rapidly than crowns. 

 Those varieties that do not produce suckers in suf- 

 cient abundance I always find easily enough increased 

 by preserving the old plants from which the fruit 

 is cut, stripping aU the leaves off them, and placing 

 them entire in shallow boxes, covering them to the 

 depth of an inch with light rich soil, ia a bottom-heat 

 of 90°. In this way every latent bud on the stems 

 bursts into growth ; and as soon as they begin to emit 

 roots, they are twisted carefully from the old stem, and 

 potted in 6-inch pots. The stems may also be split 

 up through the middle, cut into pieces according to 

 the number of buds, potted singly in small pots, and 

 plunged in bottom-heat. This plan gives more labour 

 and requires more room, and sometimes the pieces rot 

 before the buds start. However, either way can be 

 practised with success. 



By this mode of propagation a clean stock can be pro- 

 duced from plants infested with scale. In this case the 

 stems should be well scrubbed with soap and water 

 before being placed in boxes or pots. In this way a 

 perfectly clean set of plants have frequently been pro^ 

 duced from stock which had been overrun with insects. 



SUCKEES. 



Suppose a quantity of suckers to come under treat- 

 ment from the beginning of August to the middle of 

 September — the time when suckers are generally in a 



