89 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Mat 17, 1859. 
rate not far short of 450 species of plants crowded in this 
small space. It is from this consideration that the present 
notice derives its chief interest. The necessity for a large 
piece of ground in order to make an interesting garden is 
generally overrated. A small plot, laid out with taste 
and discernment, and made the most of by a judicious 
selection of plants for cultivation, may abound with objects 
of interest and utility. Mr. Rivers has made large orchards 
superfluous; Mr. Ward has taught us what can be done 
within the limits of a glass box; and we might profitably 
imitate the Chinese, if not in dwarfing our trees, at least 
in making every little nook and corner available for 
cultivation.” D. Beaton. 
PINE APPLE CULTURE. 
{Continuedfrom page 49.) 
I will here allude to a few of the simpler matters; as 
I find that, without going more into detail than would 
be desirable, I can add but little to the remarks already 
made. What follows will embrace hints in general, and 
their application to our correspondent’s case in par¬ 
ticular. 
1. Propagation. — This is generally effected by the 
crowns of the fruit — gills coming from the fruit-stem ; 
but chiefly from suckers coming from the main stem and 
roots of the plant. Those that come from the roots, or 
even much below the collar of the plant, are not so much 
esteemed as those that come from the stem farther up 
and peep at first from the axils of the leaves. We always 
preferred such suckers; and the larger they were the 
better we liked them. A stout side-twist must be given 
them when removing them, or the base would be broken, 
and thus the young plant rendered next to worthless. 
Of course, when the old stools are kept, the suckers 
must merely be thinned, and earthings up given to the 
old plant, that the young suckers may cater for them¬ 
selves with their own roots, and also derive all the 
strength possible from the old stem. Under the common 
method, however, the suckers are dressed after being 
taken off by having any rough piece at the end, where it 
joined the old plant, cleanly cut off, a few of the short 
stumpy leaves removed, and then allowed to have the 
wounds all dried and hardened by lying for a couple of 
days, or so, in a shady place. Crowns and gills are treated 
in a similar manner. They are then potted in pots in 
proportion to their size, or planted out in a hotbed. If 
potted, the pots should be small at first rather than other¬ 
wise, and the soil squeezed tightly about them; and, 
though the tops should be gently dewed, and a warm, 
moist atmosphere maintained about them, the soil should 
be dry rather than wet until the roots are working in it 
freely; and as they get to the sides of the pot a fresh 
shift should be given. 
2. Soil. —Any fresh fibry loam, rather rich than other¬ 
wise, and rough and lumpy, will grow the Pine Apple 
well; though there are some loams—such as that at Nor¬ 
wood, Roehampton, andBerkhampstead Common—greatly 
famed for the purpose. The great thing is to use it in 
such a rough state that air and water pass freely through 
it, and then squeeze it together so tight, when neither 
wet nor dry, but dry rather than wet, that the air does 
not enter so easily as to dry the roots too quickly. The 
top spit of a common, where the grass is small and like 
needles, is the best for the purpose ; and if that spit is 
not more than two or three inches deep, all the better. 
This should he laid in narrow ridges, to sweeten, for a 
twelvemonth before using ; but the sweetening should be 
secured without wasting the fibre, by keeping it dry and 
having several openings through it: by drain-tiles, or 
faggots, to let the air pass through it easily. This may 
be cut down and broken up for small plants, with a little 
addition of leaf mould ; but, for older plants in large pots, 
the most of the fine should he sifted out, and the com¬ 
post used in a rough state. For a six-inch pot there 
should not be many pieces larger than Windsor Beans ; 
for a twelve-inch pot many pieces should be as large as 
Walnuts. A little leaf mould, or rotten cowdung, may 
be added as manure; but I prefer giving strength by 
manure waterings. If the soil is not extra fibry and 
open it will be benefited by pieces of charcoal mixed 
with it. 
3. Repotting. — This should be done whenever the 
roots fill the pots, until the plants are placed in the pots 
in which it is designed to fruit them. Much difficulty is 
experienced by a beginner from the many diverse di¬ 
rections as to disrooting Pine plants when shifting them. 
The matter will be simplified if he will make it a rule of 
action never to destroy or cut away a root so long as 
that root is sound and healthy. Another rule should be, 
never to repot a plant from November to the middle of 
February or thereabouts, unless there is a necessity 
from the roots being injured, and the soil becoming 
unhealthy by being soaked from drip or other causes. 
In either case, no time should be lost in repotting a 
plant in fresh, healthy soil; and, if the roots are gone, 
treating it as respects pot-room much as would be done 
with a sucker, preferring in all such cases under to 
over-potting. We disapprove repotting in the dark days 
of winter, because the check given will he likely to be 
more injurious than the shifting would do good. 
In order to make the matter plainer we will suppose 
two different cases. If our correspondent obtained 
plants in their fruiting pots—say in August or Septem¬ 
ber, just potted—then, if all were right, these plants 
should require nothing hut keeping them slowly grow¬ 
ing until it was desirable to throw them into fruit. 
Then some of the surface soil should be removed, and a 
fresh surfacing given ; and if the plants were very bushy, 
a lower leaf or two might be removed. The temperature 
should also be gradually raised in ten days to as many 
degrees on the average, and moisture at the roots, and 
vapour in the atmosphere, given in proportion. These 
operations would require to be seen about in February 
and March, if the fruit were desired in August and Sep¬ 
tember ; and at the end of November and the beginning 
of December, if wanted by the end of May and the be¬ 
ginning of “ June. The first-supposed time would be 
attended with much less trouble and expense, because 
the sun would do so much of the extra work required. 
None of these but unhealthy plants would require re¬ 
potting ; and that would, in general, either retard or 
injure the fineness of the fruiting. 
But, on the other hand, supposing the plants were 
received as suckers in July, were put in small pots, 
and placed in a sweet bottom heat; had filled their pots 
by September, and just received a small shift with¬ 
out breaking the balls, and after the pots were well 
drained. These pots were getting well supplied with 
roots before the end of October, and the stimulus to 
growth being reduced in proportion to light, the chief 
care was to keep all right, and especially the roots, by 
not allowing them to suffer from drought, or to be rotten 
with wet. At the beginning of March—soil previously 
being well aired and heated—the plants were examined. 
These, strong and robust, with fine healthy roots filling 
the whole ball, should merely have the points of their roots 
gently disentangled, and a little of the more exhausted 
soil removed, and be transferred at once to a larger 
pot. Owing to the time the plants stand in the same 
soil, a proportion would require to have a large quantity 
of the old soil carefully removed, but the roots preserved 
uninjured; and the strongest of these should have the 
smallest shift larger, and the weakest be transferred again 
to pots of the same size they formerly grew in. From none 
but those with decayed roots would we think of disrooting 
and commencing again afresh. These plants, if all went 
well, would require potting again in June, without break¬ 
ing the ball farther than disengaging the points of the 
roots ; and then, by the same mode of potting, be trans- 
