334 
THE FLORIST. 
THE PINE-APPLE. 
{Continued from page 172 .) 
Soil for Potting .—Tolerable Pines can be obtained in a variety of 
soils, but they grow more freely in some than others ; so I may as well 
particularise one or two. The best is that obtained by paring off the 
turf three or four inches thick from dry, heatliy pasture land : this 
should be of a moderate texture, not too strong and clayey, nor yet too 
sandy; and if of a red or yellowish colour, and with a soapy touch 
when handled, you may be sure it is all right. Good Pine soil is also 
to be met with on the sides of hills and rocky situations, where it is 
shallow in depth and full of roots and fibre; they will, too, thrive well 
in good turfy peat. To sum up, it is necessary with Pines, as with 
other plants growing in pots, to provide a turfy soil for them ; for the 
reason that such soils containing a quantity of fibrous matter in the 
shape of roots, are alwas^s sufficiently open to permit water to pass 
freely through, and their decay furnishes a supply of food for the plants 
to feed on. It is not always easy to obtain pure turfy loam of the 
proper quality and consistence. In some localities near towns as much 
as a guinea is asked for a cart-load, and at that price it becomes a 
consideration whether a substitute cannot be found. I have myself 
been compelled to use a loam entirely destitute of fibrous roots—in fact, 
a kind of brick earth—and in other cases a loose crumbly marl; those 
I mixed with cut chaff, made from clean wheat straw (such as is cut 
up for cattle), and fresh horse droppings rubbed through a coarse sieve, 
to the extent of one-sixth of the bulk. I also added charcoal, broken 
small, apd burnt clay, wiih a little soot. I confess, with all my par¬ 
tiality for half-rotten turf, that I have grown quite as good Pines in 
this compost as in the turf I therefore give it as a substitute when 
the turfy loam cannot be obtained, but it requires some little trouble in 
mixing to get it sufficiently porous without overdoing it. 
If turf can be had, pare it in dry weather and stack it up, also dry, 
and when half rotten it is fit for potting. If from old pasture, and 
moderately heavy, I use it alone, merely sprinkling a little soot over it 
before using it. To heavier loams I add a little charcoal dust; and 
lighter ones, if considered too poor, are treated to half a peck of super¬ 
phosphate of lime, or blood manure for two barrowfuls of compost I 
find this amply sufficient, and much prefer it to mixing manures of all 
kinds with the compost, which only get sour, run into a mass, and 
destroy the porosity of soil, besides adding to the Pine-grower’s troubles 
by filling the pots with worms. 'Pines root much more freely in simple 
composts, for my clay mixture (as I used to call it) is not one liable to 
become sour and close; and whatever nourishment they may require 
can be supplied by liquid manure ; but even this, to the extent given 
by some growers, I do not approve of Pure sweet compost, and clean 
soft water, with, above all things, a uniform bottom-heat, are all that 
is really necessary for growing fine fruit, supposing your house a suit¬ 
able one for the purpose. 
As my directions are intended for the amateur, I have been more 
