THE PINE-APPLE. 



147 



with light compost, plunge the boxes in a tan or 

 leaf bed where the heat beneath them ranges from 

 90" to 100°. Cover the tops of the boxes with large 

 squares of glass to prevent the soil from becoming 

 too wet, or too dry, as frequent watering is 

 objectionable. After a time some of the dormant 

 buds formed at the base of everj'- leaf will begin 

 to swell and eventually burst into growth ; but as 

 all of them will not start together, the most forward 

 should be taken off with as little disturbance as 

 possible as soon as they have formed roots, when 

 they can be potted singly, and treated as seedlings. 

 Other buds, which might otherwise remain dor- 

 mant, will then go on starting into growth, until the 

 old stools are exhausted. It is the practice with 

 some to split up the stems, and cut them into squares 

 some two inches in length, for propagation after the 

 manner of striking Vine-eyes, in small pots plunged 

 in a strong bottom heat. But a little reflection will 

 convince the reader that reducing the already 

 enfeebled stems into so many small pieces must 

 cause a great loss of sap, which is not the case 

 when the stems are buried whole. It is the excite- 

 ment of the sap which causes the latent eyes to 

 start, and it will therefore at once become evident 

 that the use of the knife is objectionable. In our 

 own cultivation of the Pine-apple, both systems 

 have frequently been tried, and the first has always 

 resulted in the production of the greatest percentage 

 of young plants. In order to make these remarks 

 on propagation as intelligible and practical as pos- 

 sible, it may be well to close them by saying that 

 a small, close, efficiently heated pit in which plenty 

 of moistm'e can be constantly maintained, will form 

 the best structure for raising young plants in. 

 If bottom heat from pipes can be properly secured, 

 cocoa-nut fibre may be used as a plunging medium, 

 but when good Oak-leaves can be obtained there is 

 nothing to surpass them for Pines in every stage of 

 their growth, from the seed or the sucker to the ripe 

 fruit. 



CULTIVATION. 

 Cultivation of Suckers.— The cultivation of 

 the Pine-apple may be commenced at any season of 

 the year, the best being undoubtedly the latter end 

 of the summer, as the plants which have produced 

 summer fruit are the most likely to be well furnished 

 with stout ripe suckers, fit for detaching by the end 

 of August, or early in September. Assuming then 

 that the pit (Fig. 4, p. 33) has been made up with fer- 

 menting material, consisting of Oak-leaves or tan, and 

 that the heat has declined to a little below 90'^, pro- 

 ceed to take oif the suckers, by twisting them back- 

 wards and forwards until they part from the stem ; 

 strip off the short scaly leaves, under which a number 



of brown roots will be found ready for immediato 

 action ; cut the lower ends smooth with the knife, 

 and lay them aside in two sizes, ready for potting. 

 As cleanliness is an important item in successful 

 culture, provide a sufficient number of six and eight- 

 inch pots ; if new, let them be soaked in water ; if 

 old, thoroughly wash inside and out, and place them 

 in the sun to dry. Meantime, provide a supply of 

 clean crocks, oyster-shells, or charcoal, for drainage ; 

 break them rather small, and sift out the dust. Place 

 about two inches in each pot, the coarsest in the 

 bottom, and the finest on the surface ; cover with a 

 little cocoa-nut fibre, and a few bits of rough turf ; 

 then sprinkle with a pinch of dry soot, and place 

 them on the bench in the two sizes ready for use. 



Potting. — If the compost is cold and damp, 

 spread it thinly in the sun or a warm house until it 

 is fit for use, then commence wdth the largest suckers, 

 and, as a matter of course, the largest pots ; place 

 one in the centre of each pot, ram firmly with a pot- 

 ting stick to keep them steady, leaving nearly an inch 

 of space on the siirface when finished, for the recep- 

 tion of water when roots are formed. Convey the 

 first batch to the plunging-pit, and proceed in a like 

 manner with the second size. When all the suckers 

 are potted, calculate the distance which the space at 

 command will allow to intervene between the pots, 

 and plunge to the rims, always bearing in mind that 

 the largest plants must occupy the back, and the 

 smallest the front of the pit. It sometimes happens 

 that the disturbance of the plunging material raises 

 the temperature of the bed to a degree which may be 

 considered too high for the well-being of the young 

 roots. Anything, however, which does not exceed 

 95*^ below the bottoms of the pots will do no harm, 

 as roots under such conditions are rapidly formed, 

 and soon find their way to the sides of the pots. 

 During the first fortnight it will be necessary to 

 shade from bright sunshine through the hottest part 

 of the day, and to dew the plants very lightly with 

 a syringe after the canvas is removed on fine after- 

 noons. The sides of the pit and the surface of the 

 bed may also be damped, but no water must be given 

 to the plants until the roots touch the sides of the 

 pots, when water at a temperature of 80° may be 

 given in sufficient quantity to moisten every part 

 of the ball. After the plants have been watered they 

 will soon begin to grow freely, when the shading 

 and damping may be reduced, but not entirely dis- 

 continued, on very bright days. Air may now be 

 given pretty freely early on fine mornings, and 

 gradually increased as the plants become strong, and 

 capable of bearing full exposure to light. Shading 

 must be entirely dispensed with, and the syringe very 

 sparingly used, at leact overhead, otherwise a weakly 



