662 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



pit being refilled with tan or leaves, pans of sul- 

 phur should be ignited in it, and the fumes 

 kept closely shut up in it for twenty- four hours, 

 which will completely destroy such of the in- 

 sects as may have taken shelter in crevices of 

 the walls, &c. Syringing the plants with clean 

 water, heated to 130°, has been found effica- 

 cious. At these temperatures the insect will be 

 killed without the plants sustaining any appar- 

 ent injury — a fact experimentally proving that a 

 degree of heat and moisture sufficient to destroy 

 animal life will not have a like effect on that 

 of vegetables of so robust a nature as the pine. 

 Old plants infested with insects should, as soon 

 as the fruit is cut, be thrown away ; and if neces- 

 sity compels the retention of suckers from them, 

 let them be immersed, first in the morning and 

 again in the afternoon, in the above mixture. 

 The females of this genus are much larger than 

 the males; they differ from them also in being 

 stationary, as well as by far more numerous. 

 When she once fixes upon a spot on the surface 



of the leaf, she seems disposed there to remain ; 

 and when removed from the leaf, a number of 

 eggs and young larvae will be found immediately 

 under her ; for in this way she produces her young, 

 being supposed to be both oviparous and vivi- 

 parous. When the young are of a proper age 

 they creep out from under her, and begin ope- 

 rations similar to those of their parent. It is 

 highly proper, previous to immersing the young 

 plants, to examine them carefully, and to dis- 

 place all the scale found on them; for if once 

 displaced their power of action is destroyed, and 

 the young larvae will not withstand the liquid 

 in which they are placed, and the eggs will 

 at the same time be washed away. A high 

 and dry temperature is most favourable for 

 their production. A high and humid tempera- 

 ture is that in which they most rarely appear. 



The European names of the pine-apple are — 

 L'ananas, French — Ananas in Dutch, German, 

 Italian, and Portuguese — Pina de Indias in 

 Spanish. 



