LONDON. 507 



We next proceeded to Kew, and Mr Ay ton not being at 

 hand, we saw Mr Thorburn, foreman of the Kitchen Gar- 

 den. The pine-apples were extremely good. On the back 

 flue of the stove, they were raising a considerable quantity 

 of cucumbers in boxes and large flower-pots. They some- 

 times do very well in such situations; (at Archerfield I 

 have cut them at Christmas) ; but great care is necessary to 

 prevent the red spider from infesting them ; for if this in- 

 sect get upon them, the crop will completely fail. Where 

 steam, however, is employed in a pine-stove, it will have 

 considerable efficacy in preventing their depredations. We 

 then looked into the Botanic Garden, where I found Mr 

 Begbie, the foreman, an old acquaintance. The hot-houses 

 are not placed in any regular form, but scattered over the 

 garden. In one of them Mr Begbie drew our attention to 

 a plant of the Cactus cochinillifer, which had been brought 

 to Britain with the cochineal-insect feeding upon it. There 

 was still a considerable number of the insect upon the plant. 

 In another of the houses, he shewed us a new species of 

 passiflora, having eatable fruit, (Passiflora edulis). The 

 plant had fruit upon it at this time : it is of an oval shape, 

 purple coloured, about the size of a small hen egg. If has 

 sometimes been served up with the dessert at the Royal ta- 

 ble. 



It was by this time growing dark, and we went to Rich- 

 mond and spent the night. 



Oct. 10. — In the morning we proceeded to Hampton 

 Court. There is here a considerable quantity of forcing. 

 A steam apparatus for the pine-pits and stove, with copper 

 pipes 6 inches square, and atmospheric valves in them to 

 prevent compression^ had just been finished, and put in use 

 that day for the first time. The plants were verv good. 



