Ananassa. The pine-apple is but little cultivated in the United States, though it is probable the increase of wealth and luxury among us, may ere long induce its culture under glass, in common with the grape, peach, etc, though the same necessity as in England does not exist - our proximity to the tropics enabling us, at least on the seaboard, to obtain the pine in tolerable perfection, and at a tithe of the cost of producing it ourselves; we, however, insert the article on this fruit as it stood in the original edition of this work.

I believe the most successful cultivator of this fruit is Mr. Barnes, gardener to Lady Rolle,at Bicton,near Sidmouth, and to that excellent horticulturist I am indebted for the following detail of his latest system of culture: -

Varieties: - We cultivate the Queen principally for fruiting at all seasons. We also grow a few of the large black kinds, which are all of easy culture, and may be grown to a very large size indeed. We have of late grown the Queen Pine from six to nearly eight pounds in weight, and those have been produced from plants of only a few months' growth. The other varieties we cultivate are - the Russian Globe, English Globe, Enville, Green Olive or St. Vincent, Montserrat, Black Jamaica, Otaheite, Brown-leaved Sugar Loaf, and Black Antigua, only two or three plants of each, and those we are about reducing. All these varieties are of easy culture, and free swellers, capable of being grown to a great weight. To equal a Queen of six pounds weight they ought to be from ten to fourteen pounds weight each fruit, but we only average them from six to ten pounds weight.

Propagation

I have practised in my time various methods, but my present mode is only by suckers. These are pulled off immediately the fruit is cut, and at once potted, no matter what season of the year it may be. Thus, as soon as a fruit is ripened, the plant is lilted out, and another at once planted in its place. One sucker, or, perhaps, two, are occasionally left, but not often. Those taken off are at once potted. By this practice a constant succession of plants is kept up, and fruit of various ages. I never care for the crowns, though, if taken off in due time, and potted at once, in well sweetened dry pulverized earth, they will make equally good plants. Of course the suckers should be placed in the same kind of earth, not damp, or they will be liable to be affected at the base with rot or mildew.

Soil

The pine will grow well in any kind of turfy, rooty, well-sweetened pulverized soil, from heath soil to a heavy clayey loam. I make choice of a heathy turf when obtainable, with the roots and its natural vegetation all with it; never breaking it until at the potting bench, as the process of potting is going on. Then we break the sods, which are mostly chosen about two or three inches in thickness, in such kind of pieces as we can thrust into the pots, putting in, as we proceed, some pieces of charcoal, always taking care to drain the pots carefully, which is one of the chief essentials. Our drainage is principally coarse charcoal, averaging one-fourth of broken rubbly potsherds, which are placed first round about the bottom; then, if it is a seven-inch pot, for a sucker, the drainage averages two inches at least; and if fifteen or eight-een-inch pots, which are the largest fruiting pots I make use of, the drainage is employed in a coarser state, and about two inches more of it, and the soil too is thrust into the pots rougher - brambles, furze, bushes, heath, and grass altogether - with no other kind of manure, besides an occasional lump or handful of rubbly charcoal, merely to fill up some of the crevices.

It is not rammed, that is to say, not pounded, or jammed together in the same way potting is too often done, but pushed down as we proceed, quietly. Thus the soil is really a whole body of drainage - there is no obstruction either to the atmosphere or the water. I have no particular time or season for shifting, potting, or repotting - we do all these at any season of the year, whenever we fancy the plants seem to require it. Never shift a plant, or repot, but twice at the most. If it is a strong spring sucker, it gets with me but one potting from the sucker pot to the fruiting pot. I have left off altogether making use of any kind of manure with the earth besides charcoal; excepting to free-growing plants occasionally we apply weak liquid manure - as clear as wine - always applying it in a tepid state, and in the growing, warm part of the season. To the succession plants we apply it with the syringe or engine over the whole of the foliage and surface of the plunging materials.

"The Bottom Heat is at all times kept very moderate, the surface loosened often with a pointed stick, or two-pronged fork, so that there is no obstruction to prevent the free circulation of the atmosphere. As to stating the exact temperature in our variable dark climate, it is impossible - but the right side is to aim at a too low, instead of overdoing it; the former is the easiest to be got over. A small portion of fermenting or plunging materials, kept in a kindly condition, is always quite sufficient to command bottom heat enough. My fruiting plants have about one foot eight or nine inches of plunging materials, and stand on loose bricks in it; of course, as the season and temperature of the interior atmosphere alter, so does the bottom heat, under this system; I look to nature for the example. I cannot inform you how strong, or to what extent, the manure water ought to be applied to plants of such or such an age, or size, or variety - so much depends on a variety of circumstances; all I know is, what to apply to those I have under my own charge.

A pot or two of good ale, or a slice of beef or bacon will do wonders with a hard-working, strong, healthy-constituted man - which would not be likely in the least to agree with another person, afflicted with disease or weakness.

The Temperature Of The Air

I at all seasons regulate according to the light we receive, never tying it down to a certain degree. Some light, still, mild days, even in late autumn or winter, five degrees more can be well afforded, with air, than in a dark, cold, gloomy, windy, or stormy day, could safely be applied in summer. Suffice it to say, I regulate the atmospheric interior air from about 55° to 75°, the former the minimum in short dark days, and the latter the maximum in long light days; for heat without light is sure to cause, in time, immaturity, disease, and vermin.

Diseases And Vermin

By following the above directions, no such thing will be seen or known, and those that are already troubled with either, will, by following the above directions, get very soon clear of either".

To this mode of Pine-growing made easy, but little need be added. Those who are not so successful in keeping their pine-apples free from Scale, and other diseases, will find some information on those points under their respective titles in other pages of this volume. I will only venture to add, that I think growing the pine-apple in beds is preferable to growing it in pots; all Mr. Barnes's directions being adapted to that. I also think Mr. Barnes's maximum temperature rather too low, and that during bright sunny weather, and the long days of summer, 80° may be used with advantage. In Bengal, pineapples grow in the open air with very little cultivation, and attain a weight of seven pounds, in a temperature ranging between the extremes 120° and 53°.