354 FORGING GARDEN. 
The reasons alleged for this extraordinary practice are, 
that the pine-apple plant is continually pushing out roots 
at the surface, while those below are rapidly dying ; that 
the soil, in the course of three years, becomes completely 
exhausted; and, lastly, that this treatment prevents pre- 
mature starting in the course of the second year. This 
last reason is very questionable, and it assumes that pine- 
apple plants must be treated for three years before they 
produce fruit. There is some force in the other reasons, 
but they certainly do not prove the necessity of the prac- 
tice. Roots may be pruned without being removed 
altogether. The earth may.be shaken almost entirely 
away, and replaced by fresh compost, at the expense of 
only a few fibres. Again, if, at every shifting, a small 
portion of the earth be taken from below, as florists treat 
auriculas in pots, at the end of two years scarcely any por- 
tion of the original soil will remain. The grand objection 
to the operation is the great and unnecessary check to vege- 
tation, and the consequent stuntedness. of habit, which, ix 
succulent plants of such an age, is scarcely remediable. 
That it is possible successfully to cultivate pine-apples 
without thus cutting away the roots is borne out by the 
testimony and practice of Griffin, Appleby, and other dis- 
tinguished cultivators. When the roots are even partially 
removed, the plants must be shaded for some time, and be 
watered sparingly, till they begin to grow freely. The 
summer temperature should be comparatively warm, the 
range being from 65° to 70° of fire-heat, or during night, 
and from 70° to 85° solar heat. Abundance of air should 
be admitted, and the plants ought to he set widely, that 
they may have room to swell below, and become stout and 
bushy. 
Biennial Course —The method of culture which we 
