PINE-APPLE SOIL. 537 



•which it is evident that they labour, of being provided with 

 different kinds of food. The Ahius glutinosa, or Common 

 Alder, flourishes in wet clayey meadows ; while Ahius incana, 

 or Upland Alder, is equally suited to a dry and light land : we 

 are totally ignorant of the reason of such a case as this. 

 Ehododendron hirsutum and Erica carnea are, in their wUd 

 state, confined to calcareous soil ; while Rhododendron ferru- 

 gineum grows exclusively on granite, and Erica vagans on 

 serpentine. "We are informed by Beyrich {Gardeners' Magazine, 

 iii. 443) 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 culti- 

 vated is of a similar nature. In the sandy plains of Praya 

 velha and Praya grande, formed by the receding of the sea, and 

 in which no other plant will thrive, are the spots where the 

 Pine-apple grows best. The cause of this lies evidently in the 

 composition of the sand, which chiefly consists of salt, lime 

 from decomposed shells, and a very little vegetable mould. 

 "Warmth, lime, salt, and moisture seem thqjefore to be the 

 principal ingredients in which the Pine-apple thrives. Sand 

 wOl take a very high ajid continued degree of warmth, being 

 often heated by the sun so much as to scorch vegetation, and 

 yet it seldom dries to a greater depth than from eight inches 

 to one foot ; sea salt is well known for its property of attracting 

 the nocturnal damps, and retaining them a long time. The 

 lime of the shells seems to be the principal manure, which has 

 also been proved by the English here, who, by manuring their 

 Pine-apples with a mixture of stamped oyster-shells and vege- 

 table earth, produce very large fruit. The natural mould, 

 usually shghtly mixed with sand, is partly of a vegetable and 

 partly of a mineral origin." But it is well known that the 

 Piae-apples of England are much superior to those of South 

 America, and yet English gardeners grow their plants neither 

 in sand, nor saline, nor calcareous soil. Moreover we learn 

 from Mr. Campbell Lees that in the Bahamas the Pine-rapple 

 wUl neither grow in decomposed Madrepore limestone, nor in 

 light deep black vegetable soil ; but that it thrives exclusively 



