66 
THE FLORIST. 
early in November, for the purpose of procuring ripened Pines in May. 
The plants should be plunged in a bottom heat of 85°, which should be 
increased gradually to 95° in a month’s time ; our plan to manage this 
is only to plunge the pots halfway at first, and in three weeks’ time 
fill up to the rim of the pot with warm tan or leaves as the case may be, 
which with me has the effect of increasing: the heat as I wish. Free 
exposure to light is imperative at this time, as well as a rather more 
liberal supply of water. Raise the night temperature in a fortnight 
after starting to 65° and to 70° in the next fortnight, which must on 
all occasions be considered the maximum night temperature, and on 
this a rise of from 5° to 10° and 15° may be allowed, graduated agree¬ 
ably with the amount of light and power of the sun. Air will be 
required with this temperature, but on this my former directions should 
be looked to. 
At this stage I never either syringe the plants or damp the house— 
a comparatively hot and dry atmosphere being more favourable for 
inducing the Pine to show fruit than a moist one, and the humidity of 
the external air at this season (November and December) will, in most 
states of the weather, render moistening the internal air of the house 
unnecessary until the plants are out of bloom ; should it be otherwise, 
the paths and heating apparatus may be damped occasionally for the 
purpose of counteracting the dryness caused by strong fire-heat, but on 
no account should syringing the plants overhead be practised while 
they are flowering ; for as the symmetry and beauty of the fruit will 
depend on each individual bloom opening, every means must be used 
to accomplish this, which, during the dark days of this season, cannot 
always be attained without a little extra fire by day to allow for ad¬ 
mitting a large proportion of air ; the rather high temperature I am now 
recommending will also force the show well up from the heart of the 
plant, and clear of the surrounding leaves; and which will also allow 
the blooms on the lower part of the show to open more freely. Defec¬ 
tive pips are often caused, when the Pines are in bloom, by syringing 
them ; the water penetrates the flower, where it lodges and cruses 
decay to the parts surrounding the cell at the base of the flower-tube, 
and thereby produces imperfectly formed pips ; and very frequently too, 
when ripe and cut, the fruit will have these cells decayed and black, 
entirely through using the syringe at the time the plants are in bloom. 
These peculiarities of treatment are more especially requisite at the 
season I am speaking of, when we have, as it were, to force the plant 
into fruit, than when, as will be the case in February and onwards, the 
increase of solar heat and light will bring the fruit up by the natural 
growth of the season, without more artificial assistance than the usual 
temperature of Pine-stoves; but keeping the plants dry and with¬ 
holding the syringe during the period of bloom should, on no account, 
be omitted at any season ; and where individual plants are in bloom 
among others swelling off, the manager must guard against this, for the 
reason alluded to above. 
When the last blooms at the top of the fruit have performed their 
functions, syringing overhead must again be resorted to, more especially 
on the afternoons of bright days. I am, however, by no means so great 
