30 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDEKINO. 



Calcareous loams have from eight to fifteen or 

 even twenty per cent, of lime, from forty to fifty of 

 clay, and the remainder made up of sand. Under 

 the head of hazel loams are included most of the 

 light loams, fibrous loams, containing over five per 

 cent, of humus or vegetable matter, and about equal 

 proportions of sand and clay, with little or no lime. 



These descriptions are designedly brief, as the 

 subject will be freely treated in other articles ; and 

 all that is intended here is to give a few hints 

 that may be useful as a guide in choosing the 

 best loams for fruit-culture. Sandy loams, as a rule, 

 are too light for fruit-growing, unless stiffened and 

 fortified by additions of clay or marl. Hazel loams 

 will grow good Apples, but are rather light, as well 

 as rich, for most hardy fruits ; they have a tendency 

 to force the trees into timber rather than fertility, 

 and fail to sustain the vigour and fruitfidness of 

 trees through a series of years. On the whole, what 

 are called clayey or calcareous loams are the best 

 all-round soils for fruit-culture. The first, how- 

 ever, must not have too much clay, nor the second 

 too much chalk, as either in excess is objection- 

 able. But a considerable moiety of both seems in- 

 dispensable to impart that stability, holding power, 

 and staying property of soil so needful to support 

 fruit-trees, and to establish and maintain their fer- 

 tility. Hence the origin of the practice of mixing 

 marls, burnt earth, and strong loams with the lighter 

 ones for the culture of stone fruits. 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



By William Coleman. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE Pine (Ananas sativa), so named from its fruit 

 resembling the cone of the Pine-tree, was first 

 discovered by Europeans in Peru, and was by them 

 introduced into the West and afterwards into the 

 East Indies, where it has long been extensively 

 cultivated ; but the highest authorities are of opinion 

 that it is not indigenous to those countries. From 

 the West Indies it is probable that it was brought to 

 Holland, and was introduced into this country about 

 200 years ago by an ancestor of the noble house of 

 Portland, and has been more or less successfully 

 cultivated in the gardens of the wealthy down to the 

 present time. In the "Hortus Kewensis" the Pine is 

 said to have been introduced to that establishment in 

 1690, most likely as a botanical specimen ; and forty 

 years later numerous Pine-stoves were in exis- 

 tence in England and Scotland, where the plant was 

 grown for its fruit ; but nothing is said of the size 

 or quality of the examples of those early days, con- 



sequently it may be assumed that they fell far short 

 of those productions of which English gardeners are 

 now so justly proud. It was not, however, till after 

 the removal of the vexatious tariff on glass, and 

 the general introduction of hot-water pipes and im- 

 proved boilers, that Pine-cultivation became general 

 and profitable. When the enterprising growers for 

 market, who do everything well, took it in hand, 

 they very soon reversed the order of things by grow- 

 ing large fruits on small young plants, where for- 

 merly, under the old system of forcing in summer 

 and starving in winter, small fruits were produced 

 by large old ones. 



After a time, spirited caterers for the increasing 

 demand sought a more genial climate for Pine-culture 

 in the Azores, whence steamers during the Orange 

 season regularly ply, laden with thousands of large, 

 perfectly fresh, weU-swelled fruits of the smooth- 

 leaved Cayenne, but httle inferior to the produce of 

 English Pine-stoves. This sudden change, which 

 took place about 1870-72, soon brought down the 

 price of the fruit ; growers for market gave it up, 

 and its culture once more became confined to pri- 

 vate gardens, where the finest and best Pines in the 

 world are still grown. In many old establishments, 

 pits and houses not altogether well adapted are 

 frequently brought into use ; but as these are fast 

 giving way, it will be our endeavour to keep the 

 reader abreast of the times, by devoting a few words 

 to the selection of the site and the construction of 

 houses most suitable for the production of a constant 

 supply of good fruit throughout the year. 



The Pine-ground and Pine-houses.— In 



the selection of a situation for the erection of a set 

 of Pine-pits or houses, which will afford the greatest 

 facilities for high-class cultivation, the following 

 important points should be kept in view. The 

 ground should be well drained, slightly elevated, 

 and if possible sheltered from north and north-east 

 winds, provided such shelter can be obtained without 

 producing shade, or in any way interfering with full 

 exposure to sunshine and light. 



When it is borne in mind that the Pine in aU its 

 stages of growth rejoices in a tropical temperature, 

 and nothing so quickly reduces the heat in hot- 

 houses as exposure to high winds, it will at once be 

 seen that conditions, including shelter, which favour 

 the maintenance of a steady temperature, without 

 having recourse to hard firing, should have full and 

 careful consideration before building is commenced. 

 In its native habitat, as well as in the Azores, which 

 lie twenty degrees south of England, the Pine gets 

 an abundance of light, an important element in 

 keeping the plants dwarf and sturdy ; while in this 

 country, during two-thirds of the year, the days are 



