74 EXPERIMENTS EN THE CULTIVATION OF THE PINE-APPLE. 



and Providences. The roots were carefully spread out horizon- 

 tally in every direction, and covered, about 3 inches in depth, 

 with soil ; the distance from plant to plant was 2 J feet every 

 way, and each variety was planted in rows across the pit from 

 back to front, for the convenience of getting easily amongst them 

 should alterations with regard to any particular sort be necessary. 



I commenced with a gentle heat and a moist atmosphere ; the 

 plants soon began to grow, and as the season advanced their pro- 

 gress became more rapid, the plants assuming a deep-green healthy 

 colour, with a strong dwarf habit, altogether having as fine and 

 healthy an appearance as could be desired. In about two months 

 the plants appeared as if at rest after their rapid growth, when a 

 number of suckers (five or six on eacli plant) made their appear- 

 ance on all the Queens. On a portion of the plants the suckers were 

 allowed to grow, on others they were thinned out to two to each 

 plant, while on the remainder they were gradually but entirely 

 taken off. Where the suckers were all retained they made rapid 

 progress, and by autumn were so large that it was difficult to 

 distinguish them from the parent plant, all of them being about 

 equal in size, and large enough to all appearance to produce 

 good-sized fruit in the following spring. The plants having two 

 suckers only were very little, if any, larger in size than those 

 with four. Late in the following spring nearly every plant and 

 sucker fruited, but to my disappointment not a single fruit 

 weighed more than -f lb., and nearly one-half of them were de- 

 formed and useless. In a very few weeks afterwards the other 

 plants, from which the suckers had been entirely taken ofT, sent 

 up another numerous brood, some below and some above where 

 the first suckers had been removed ; these were again taken off, 

 and with similar result. In the end this weakened the parent 

 plants so much that I considered they would never produce fruit 

 of any size, and so I had them all pulled up, except one plant, 

 which stood two years and six months before it produced a fruit 

 of 2 lbs. weight. I was now satisfied that the Queen Pine is not 

 adapted to this mode of culture. I now grow them in pots till 

 they attain their full size for fruiting, and in the month of August 

 or September, according to their forwardness, I turn them all 

 out and plant them in the soil, where they remain till the fruit is 

 cut in the following season. I find that they always produce 

 much finer and better swelled fruit when planted out than when 

 kept in pots, much less trouble and care attends their manage- 

 ment, and there is less risk in over or under watering them. On 

 planting out, it is necessary to ascertain that the balls are tho- 

 roughly wet through, for if turned out dry it is difficult to get 

 them wet afterwards, and the consequence will be deformed or 

 small fruit. 



