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Propagation (This may be accomplished) (II)

This may be accomplished by seeds, crowns, gills, cuttings of the stem or dormant buds, and suckers. Seeds may be sown in shallow pans or pots of light, sandy soil, which should be placed in a bottom heat of about 85 deg. or 90 deg., and covered with a bell glass. The seedlings, when they are large enough to handle, should be potted in light, peaty soil, and grown on in a high temperature until they are large enough to be treated like ordinary plants obtained by other means. Crowns are procured from the points of the fruits; they should be inserted, so soon as the fruit is used, in small pots of rather dry soil, and be plunged in a strong bottom heat. Crowns are principally utilised when the variety is rather shy in producing suckers; they do not form such good plants, nor are they considered to produce such heavy fruits, as suckers. A longer period is also required to bring them to a fruiting stage. Gills are offshoots, something like small suckers, that are produced just below the fruit. They are not often used for propagating, except in the case of rare sorts. Cuttings of the stem, or propagation from dormant eyes, is another method pursued when suckers are scarce. The leaves may be removed from the stems of plants whose fruits have been cut, when the stems should be cut in pieces, or, better still, laid intact in shallow boxes, which should be thoroughly drained. They should be covered with at least 1in. of light soil, and panes of glass should be laid over the top. If subjected to bottom heat, most of the dormant buds which were formed at the base of each leaf will, in due course, start growth as young plants. They may be removed carefully, when large enough, and treated as seedlings. Suckers afford the chief supply for effecting an increase; they are usually procurable from plants when the latter arrive at the fruiting stage. After the fruit is cut, the suckers grow fast from the base, and it is often a good practice to allow them to remain on the old stools until they attain a large size. They may be detached, and potted off singly; but it is not advisable to do this during the winter months: from March, in spring, to a period not later than September, in autumn, should be taken as a limit. In the preparation of suckers for inserting, all that is necessary is to carefully remove them, by taking hold close to the base, and twisting gently, forward and backward, until they come off; afterward, cut the end smooth with a sharp knife, and take off a very few of the smallest lower leaves. Suckers may be potted, according to their size, in clean pots, from 5in. to 8in. in diameter.

CULTIVATION. Where a quantity of Pine-apples are grown, it is usual to set apart structures for those in various stages of growth--one for suckers, one for succession plants, and another for those which have advanced to the fruiting stage. In all cases, provision must be made for plunging-beds, and there should be plenty of hot-water pipes for keeping a high temperature, without having to over-heat them and produce a very dry atmosphere. Pine-apples may be grown in pits, but they may be much better attended to in a house, which, for the various stages in the growth of the plants, may be a lean-to, hiproofed, or a span-roofed structure. Provision should always be made for the full admission of light; this is a most important element in cultivation, as it is conducive towards keeping the plants dwarf and sturdy. The surface of the plunging-beds should be near enough to the glass to allow of the plants nearly touching the latter when fixed in position. There should be hot-water pipes passing through a hollowed chamber beneath a staging of slate or wood, fixed to hold up the plants, and form a division. The plunging material above the hollowed chamber, consisting of good Oak-leaves or tan, should be from 2ft. to 3ft. deep for maintaining heat over a long period. A small lean-to house is best for propagating, with a plunging-bed along the front, and a narrow passage at the back. When the plants become too large for this structure, they will be ready for the succession house, which may be hip-roofed or lean-to, on a higher and larger scale, with front and back passages. For fruiting Pine-apples, a span-roofed house is generally preferred for summer, to meet the requirements of strong-growing plants, and afford facilities for giving them an abundance of light; such an arrangement is not, however, always practicable, and the best has, consequently, to be made of the means at command.

Provision should be made, in Pine-houses or pits, for applying a thin shading for a few hours on bright summer days; but this must be fixed on rollers, and on no account be left down permanently. To these rollers a thicker covering, for use on cold nights, and in severe weather, may be fixed with great advantage, as the heat and moisture, inside the house, will be much preserved thereby, and this is of great importance when hardfiring becomes a necessity. Ventilation should chiefly be given from the top; but provision should also be made for admitting front air near where the pipes are situated, in case of such being required in summer. On hot days, if top ventilators are open, rapid evaporation of moisture takes place; this may be counteracted considerably by nearly closing the top when the shading is down, and giving air from the front instead. On no account must draughts be allowed.

The soil best suited for Pine-apples is one that affords the free passage of water, and the pots used should be thoroughly clean and dry both inside and out; they should also be well drained. Light, fibrous loam, which has been cut very thin, and stacked for a time sufficient to kill the grass, should form the main part of the compost. It should be torn up by hand, and only the rough, lumpy portions used. To it may be added some fibry peat similarly shaken out, about one-fifth part of rough, charred refuse, or some charcoal, and crushed bones, to the extent of half a bushel to about five barrow-loads of the compost. This should be prepared beforehand, and always made warm before being used. Animal manures, and anything tending to decay rapidly, should be excluded from soils intended for Pine-apple culture. If a stimulant becomes necessary, it is best applied when the plants require it, by means of diluted liquid manure. The chief provisions, under this heading, are, therefore, those of insuring thorough porosity in the soil, and good drainage: Pine-apples will never succeed in a compost that becomes at any time close and retentive, or in the least sour from being over-wet. Pine-apples need never be placed in larger than 12in. pots; in these they may be most successfully fruited. In growing on suckers, and succession plants, an eye should be given to potting in sizes proportionate to giving a final shift into that above mentioned. Some cultivators adopt a system of planting-out Pine-apples when they arrive at the fruiting stage; but it is not generally practised. There are disadvantages, as, for instance, if anything should prove unfavourable to their well-being, it might not be so easily remedied as if the plants could be readily removed. A pot-plant, so soon as its fruit has been cut, may be easily taken elsewhere for producing suckers, and another, with the fruit ripening, put into its place. This would not be so readily accomplished were the system of planting-out adopted. Watering must be conducted with great care in winter; sometimes it will not be advisable to apply any for weeks then, nor yet in early spring. When the application of water becomes necessary-a time readily known to practised cultivators by the plant's appearance--sufficient should be given to thoroughly soak the ball, and this should be of a temperature equally as high as that of the bottom heat maintained. It is well to examine the plants for watering at least once a week. Syringing, during the season when the plants are growing, should be practised at closing time in the afternoons; warm water must always be used. Evaporating troughs, on the pipes, kept filled with water, and frequent dampings of the walls and passages, will preserve a moist atmosphere; this, with a high temperature, is what Pine-apples require when growing as succession plants, and when the fruits are swelling. At the time the latter are ripening, water should be withheld, and a much drier atmosphere maintained; otherwise, the flavour will be affected. In winter, the plants should be rested, but not subjected to a lower minimum night temperature than 65 deg., that by day, in mild weather, being 5 deg. or 10 deg. higher. As the days lengthen, these figures may increase, until, in summer, 70 deg. or 75 deg. should be taken as a minimum for night. The bottom heat to be aimed at, through the spring and summer, is about 85 deg. INSECTS. Mealy Bug and White Scale are the most destructive insects to the attacks of which Pine-apples are subject. Both are very injurious, and are difficult to eradicate; it is therefore extremely important that their appearance should, if possible, be prevented. Whenever any are detected, measures for cleansing the plants should be at once taken in hand. Various remedies have been proposed and tried, amongst them being that of placing affected plants head downwards over a bed of fermenting horse-dung, in a frame which is kept closed for about an hour, when the plants are taken out and washed. Clean water, at a temperature approaching, but not exceeding, 130 deg., has also been recommended. Perhaps the most efficacious remedy, when properly applied, is paraffin, using a wineglassful to a gallon of warm, soft water. The plants should be laid on their side, and the mixture syringed on by one person, while another keeps it constantly agitated with a second syringe. The whole of the paraffin must be afterwards washed off with clean water, applied warm, and with some force.

SORTS. Pine-apples are somewhat numerous in varieties, but for all practical purposes only a few of the best are necessary. Indeed, the good qualities of the few leading sorts enumerated below have been sufficient to gradually lead to the discarding of many others of less merit. There are, however, a few others in cultivation.

Black Jamaica. Flowers purple. Fruit oval, somewhat pyramidal, bronzy-yellow when ripe, attaining a weight of from 4lb. to 5lb.; pips medium, prominent, flattened in the centre; flesh firm, rich, juicy, and highly flavoured. Leaves long, finely serrated, dark green, tinged with red. Habit tall and erect. This is undoubtedly one of the best of all varieties for fruiting in winter. Charlotte Rothschild. Flowers lilac. Fruit large, cylindrical, or slightly barrel-shaped, with medium-sized crown; pips large, flat, golden-yellow; flesh yellow, and very juicy; weight from 7lb. to 10lb. Leaves broad, with strong spines, slightly curved, dark green above, mealy beneath. This fine variety requires a high temperature, plenty of light, and dry air, to ripen it properly.

Hurst House. Fruit pyramidal, with prominent pips; flesh juicy and rich; weight sometimes 6lb. Leaves short, recurved, with strong, thickly-set spines. The habit of this variety is very dwarf and compact; consequently, it is adapted for culture where space is limited. It is only of use as a summer variety. SYN. Fairrie's Queen.

Lady Beatrice Lambton. Flowers purple. Fruit pyramidal or conical, with medium or small crown; pips broad, flattened, orange-colour, with deep yellow in the furrows between; flesh pale yellow, remarkable for the abundance of its juice, flavour rich and excellent; average weight about 9lb. (a specimen weighing 11lb. 7oz. has been grown by Mr. Hunter, at Lambton castle, Durham, where the variety was raised by the late Mr. Stevenson, in 1860). Leaves straight and erect, dark green, covered with whitish mealiness; spines strong, widely set. A large and exceedingly handsome variety, likely to prove, under good cultivation, one of the best for general use, and also for fruiting in winter. It is less spreading in habit than the SMOOTH-LEAVED CAYENNE. Lord Carington. Flowers purple. Fruit long, pyramidal, dark orange; pips medium, nearly flat; flesh pale yellow, tender, rich, and highly flavoured; weight from 4lb. to 7lb. Leaves broad, the JAMAICA section, first brought into notice by Mr. Miles, gardener to Lord Carington, Wycombe Abbey, Bucks. Queen. Flowers lilac. Fruit cylindrical, rich deep yellow when ripe; pips medium or rather small, prominent; flesh pale yellow, remarkably juicy and sweet; weight from 3lb. to sometimes 8lb. in fine specimens. Leaves very short, broad, bluish-green, very mealy, with strong spines widely disposed. One of the best Pine-apples for general cultivation; it is unexcelled in summer and autumn by any other, but does not swell properly in winter. This is supposed to be the oldest Pine-apple we have. There are several sub-varieties grown, that known as the RIPLEY QUEEN being the best. It propagates freely, and ripens off its fruit quickly. QUEEN Pine-apples will keep in good condition for three weeks after they are ripe.

Smooth-leaved Cayenne. Flowers purple. Fruit very large, cylindrical or somewhat barrel-shaped, dark orange-yellow; pips large, flat; flesh pale yellow, rich, and highly flavoured; weight from 6lb. to 9lb.; crown large. Leaves long, broad, dark green, almost free from spines. A very handsome variety, one of the best for fruiting in winter and early spring, when it is more juicy than any other.This is the variety which is so largely grown in the Azores, whence the English fruiterers obtain their principal supply of fruits from autumn until the following May. It does not produce suckers very freely. Thoresby Queen. Flowers purplish-lilac. Fruit large, barrelshaped, stouter and shorter than that of CHARLOTTE ROTHSCHILD; pips flat, swelling evenly; flesh deep orange-yellow, firm, moderately juicy; weight 6lb. to 8lb; crown small. Leaves taller than those of the common QUEEN, with very fine, thickly-set spines. Plant of dwarf and distinct habit. The flavour is not considered equal to the true QUEEN, but the variety is favoured in some parts. SYN. Bennett's Seedling.

PINE BARK BEETLES. Numerous species of small beetles (never exceeding 1/4in. in length, and usually not over 1/6in. or 1/8in.) live below the bark of Fir-trees and other Conifers. They have a great general similarity in appearance, the body being usually nearly cylindrical, or slightly flattened from above downwards; the wing-cases are rounded down at the hinder end and along the sides. The colour is a shade of brown, sometimes approaching pitchy-black; but it is often modified by a coating of short hairs of a different hue. The females burrow through the bark, and form a tunnel between it and the wood, a task facilitated by their form. The burrows vary greatly in details, each species of beetle forming its own characteristic and easily-recognised type of burrow. Along the sides of this the eggs are placed at intervals; and the larvae, as soon as hatched, make burrows for themselves, usually diverging from that of the mother in such a way as to avoid interfering with each other. They have no legs, are fleshy, and are nearly white in colour. They become pupae generally in their tunnels, and the beetles emerge from them about June and July, or there may be two broods. For egg-laying, they almost always select trees in an unhealthy state: hence, their ravages as larvae do little real harm to forests; but, in the case of ornamental Conifers, they may, at times, destroy choice plants that, but for this additional foe, might have recovered. A number of the species found in this country, e.g., Hylesinus ater, H. opacus, Tomicus bidentatus, and T. Laricis, as beetles, have been observed to injure the Firs and other Conifers by gnawing the bark of young shoots; and they are known to kill young plants, even up to the tenth year of growth, by stripping the bark from the base of the stem. Others, and among these notably Hylesinus piniperda, bore into young twigs, and eat out the pith in the centre, from the base towards the tip. The twigs die, dry up, and fall off, frequently in considerable numbers. If the leading shoots have been pierced, the form and value of the tree are largely affected. The genera and species of Bark Beetles are so much alike that the distinctive characters are recognisable only by practised entomologists: hence, it is vain to attempt to give descriptions of the many species that are to be met with on Firs and other Coniferae in Britain. Remedies. The Beetles prefer to lay their eggs under the bark of tree-stumps, cut branches, brushwood, &c.: hence, it is advisable to remove and burn all such refuse, without delay, except so much as may be left as a trap to attract the females; and this also should be burned after the purpose is served. The traps should be renewed every three or four weeks, while the Beetles are out, i.e., from early spring till the end of July, and again in late autumn, since some species appear in autumn, and hybernate. All diseased plants, if small, should be uprooted and burned. Badly-diseased trees, if too large to be entirely burned, should have the bark stripped off and burned. It is hardly possible to do anything to preserve a tree that has been severely attacked, more especially as it is almost always suffering from other causes; and the better course is to uproot and destroy all such trees at once. If the attack is slight, and the tree is a valuable one, it may be possible to stop the evil by measures to promote the growth of the tree, thereby rendering it unsuited to the taste of the insects. An insecticide, such as Gishurst's Compound or petroleum, may also be injected into such holes as can be discovered in the bark, in order to destroy the beetles or larvae in them.