APEIL. 
83 
♦ 
these I prefer to dung, as a steady heat is all that is required, of about 40° or 45°, 
for if too much heat is given the heads are then small, instead of being short, 
thick, white and crisp. 
Elsenham Hall Gardens. William Plestee. 
THE CULTURE OF THE PINE APPLE—No. IY. 
Modeeate heat—say from 58° to 65°—not too much charged with humidity, 
should be maintained for the suckers and succession plants during the short days 
of the winter months, increasing it and humidity as the light and days increase, 
by the addition to, and turning of, linings, if applied by fermenting materials, and 
by applications of tepid clear manure water with the engine or syringe. If in a 
structure heated* with a tank, hot-air chamber, or hot-water pipes, they may be 
treated in the same way, but more liberally and oftener. Should there be paths 
inside, they should also be frequently saturated with clear water, charged with 
ammoniacal matters, on sunny afternoons. 
Plants grown to their fruitiog size, and about to start their fruit, should be 
always liberally aired with a more moderate heat and humidity till after they have 
bloomed and started into fruit, after which, and till they have about finished 
swelling, both should be liberally supplied. While colouring or ripening, air 
should very liberally be given, and humidity withheld, in order that the fruit may 
ripen of a fine colour and flavour. If the plants should be grown to their 
fruiting size without a check, and started into fruit in a healthy growing state, 
they are sure to be vigorous, blossom strongly, and grow on vigorously ; and they 
are sure to produce handsome, well-grown, heavy fruit, without deficiency or 
deformity. In order to accomplish this, the uniformity of atmosphere, in the 
interior of the structure, should range, in the short days of winter, from 65° 
to 70°, increasing it as the days lengthen to 75°. The sun heat by day will, of 
course, raise the atmosphere’s heat much higher, which may at all times be easily 
modified by reversing the heat from the top pipes to the bottom heat, where this 
arrangement is provided, and in all structures by the application of additional air 
and humidity, and stopping ,the fire. The addition of 10° or 15° of sun heat will 
at all times be beneficial, if humidity and air are methodically and duly applied; 
and this is far preferable to shading, which I never approve of. The idea of 
hearing so much complaint, in our uncertain climate, about the want of light, and 
then, as soon as we are favoured with the sight of it, to deprive plants and fruits 
of the benefit of it by artificial shading, after bewailing and complaining of its 
obscurity by clouds, seems to me always unreasonable. By adhering to the fore¬ 
going practice, vigour and health will at all times be maintained, and disease or 
vermin will never become troublesome. 
Those who are unfortunate enough to be troubled with any kind of scale or 
coccus may easily eradicate them by putting in full practice, generally, the 
instructions given in a former paper, instead of making use of any medicated 
compounds, of which so many are recommended by the old authors on Pine 
culture. These fully show that the Pine mus 1 ; formerly have been subjected to 
very imperfect treatment; for under good methodical culture the Pine Apple is 
not subject to disease or vermin. The best plan I could ever discover, and which 
I fully recommend to those who have their plants infected, is to set to at once 
and get their plants into robust health, by placing them—that is, the succession 
and growing plants of all stages—in structures such as stated in the second article 
on Pine culture, applying abundance of humidity by fermenting materials, fre¬ 
quently turning and shaking up the linings, adding fresh materials to the summit, 
maintaining a strong humid heat, well charged with ammonia, always applying 
the water with the engine or syringe, or rose of a water-pot, overhead, well charged 
with ammonia, either through chimney-soot water, manure water, made from a 
solution of sheep, deer, or other animal droppings, with occasionally a fresh hot 
stone or two of lime dropped into the cask or cistern. 
If the plants are methodically potted and placed on a kindly bottom heat, with 
plenty of ventilation, as previously recommended in treating of the succession- 
