392 



THE TROPICAL PRUIT STOVE. 



that time were strong, were allowed to receive the benefit of the sun ; but 

 if not protected frorn it when very young, they were found to droop and 

 die. When transplanted they grew very luxuriantly, and, at the end of 

 fifteen months after their removal, attained the height of from three to 

 four feet.'' 



From the work above quoted we learn that the cloves sent from St. 

 Vincent's to England in 1800, w^ere obtained from trees eight feet high, 

 having a stem only two inches in diameter. Trial was made in this 

 island of the relative growth of the plant on different soils. It grew 

 sickly on land that was not manured, but on land which had received 

 this preparation it flourished. It should be planted in a situation where 

 it is not exposed to high winds." In the Ency. of Plants it is stated to 

 grow freely in loam and peat, and that ripened cuttings are not difficult 

 to root in sand, in a moist heat, under a hand-glass. Peat and loam is, 

 however, we fear, much too light a soil, and we would rather recommend 

 a trial of strong brick earthy loam, with very little manure, and well 

 exposed to the weather before using. 



GINGER {Zingiber officinale). 



It is now matter of dispute whether the amomum which Pliny describes 

 be identical v\ith the ginger of the present day, or not ; be this as it may, 

 the importation of ginger forms no inconsiderable item in the imports of 

 this country. We find that in 1830, no less than 5491 cwt. w^ere received, 

 producing a revenue of ^2800. The cultivation of ginger is exceedingly 

 simple, requiring much less care than a crop of potatoes in Europe. That 

 ginger would be worth cultivating in this country as a plant of commerce, 

 we do not mean to insinuate, any more than that any of the other 

 tropical productions w^e have been treating of could be grown here at a 

 cheaper rate than they could be imported from their native country. It 

 is the pleasure and satisfaction that the proprietor would derive from 

 growing the productions of the tropics within our northern latitudes, and 

 the hope of recalling to his mind perhaps pleasing associations, should 

 he have been for a time a resident in those countries ; and besides that 

 species of gratification, there is the pleasure of showing how much the art 

 of man can render subservient to his wishes the whole vegetable kingdom^ 

 and place upon his table the fruits of the torrid, frigid, and temperate 

 zones. 



The cultivation of ginger for the purpose of making the most delicious 

 and wholesome of all tropical preserves, namely, proserved ginger, which 



