464 On the Effects of high Temperature on some Plants. 



young leaves always required to be shaded, when the temper- 

 ature of the house exceeded 90°. But with proper attention 

 to screen the leaves from the mid-day sun, till they acquired 

 maturity, the young trees of this species have succeeded as 

 well as those of any of the preceding species. 



Several other plants, part of them natives of temperate 

 climates, grew in my house, through the whole summer, 

 without any one of them being drawn, or any way injured, 

 by the very high temperature to which they were occasion- 

 ally subjected ; and from these, and other facts, which have 

 come within my observation, I think myself justified in 

 inferring, that in almost all cases, in which the object of the 

 cultivator is to promote the rapid and vigorous growth of 

 his plants, very high temperatures, provided it be accom- 

 panied by bright sunshine, may be employed with great 

 advantage ; but it is necessary that the glass of his house 

 should be of good quality, and that his plants be placed 

 near it, and be abundantly supplied with food and water. 

 In the preceding experiments, water was made the vehicle 

 of food to the roots of the plants, in the manner I have 

 described in a former communication,* and with similar good 

 effects. 



My house contains a few Pine-apple plants ; in the treat- 

 ment of which I have deviated somewhat widely from the 

 common practice ; and, I think, with the best effects ; for 

 their growth has been exceedingly rapid, and a great many 

 gardeners, who have come to see them, have unanimously 

 pronounced them more perfect than any which they had 

 previously seen. But many of the gardeners think that my 



* Horticultural Transactions, Vol. II. page 127. 



