finished, the tree was laid neatly to the trellis, filling the whole of the back wall, 25 ft. long and 16 ft. high. In the spring and summer of 1826, it showed abundance of flowers, which were all cut off as they appeared; in 1827, it put forth a greater abundance of flowers, a few of which only were left to produce fruit; and in 1828, it was allowed to bear a full crop. It has been under the management of Mr. Alexander Lauder for the last three years; and, for its progress last year, I transcribe from Mr. Lauder's letter to me, of the 18th of January instant:"The citron tree covers the whole of the trellis on the back wall of the orange-house, with branches on each side extending about 6 ft. round the ends. It produced between seven and eight dozens of fruits last year; about four dozens were full-sized, the remainder were taken off when half grown ; besides a great quantity taken off when about the size of a common orange and under: only four of the fruits were allowed to ripen, the others were taken off green for preserving. The tree is in very good health: a number of last year's shoots are from 7 ft. to 8 ft. in length."

Edinburgh, Jan. 22. 1830.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.

JOHN HAY.

THE citron sent measured 18 in. in circumference one way, and 19 in. the other. - Cond.

ART. XXVI. Mr. C. Hale Jessop's Mode of cultivating the Enville Pine. Communicated by him to the Vale of Evesham Horticultural Society, at a Meeting of which on Sept. 25. 1828 it was read; and sent by the President of that Society to the Gardener's Magazine.

I HAVE sent an Enville pine, raised by retaining and fruiting the suckers attached to the old stem or mother plant, well situated near the bottom of the parent plant.

In September take off some of the leaves about the base, to favour the emission of roots; then potting deep the suckers attached to the stem and roots of the old plant. This mode is, I think, well adapted for the tardy fruiters, and will insure fruit annually which will give the same weight of fruit, and betterflavoured than others fruiting at three years old. From the plant that produced the fruit herewith sent I cut a fine handsome fruit last summer, and which, at 10s. per lb., produced 17. 17s. 6d., weighing 4 lbs. all but 4 oz. I have now a fine sucker, rising from and on the mother plant of 1827, which bids fair to produce such another fruit for next year...

ART. XXVII. On growing Pine-apples in Moss. By M. JACOB SEIMEL, Head Gardener to the Count Montgelas, at Bogenhausen, near Munich.

Sir,

WHEN you lately honoured the gardens of Count Montgelas, at Bogenhausen, with a visit, you expressed a wish that I would communicate to you, in writing, my method of raising pine-apples in moss. I am happy to have it thus early in my power to comply with your request; and you may be assured that the statements I am about to make are the genuine results of twelve years' experience and observation.

Of the Gathering of the Moss, its Treatment and Mixing.The moss (Hypnum spec. div.) is gathered in the months of September and October in the woods, and chopped small at home with a hatchet, or cut like chaff, after which it is laid up in a broad heap in the open air. About four English bushels of horn shavings, or more, are added to every two-horse-load of moss, and well mixed with it; after that the heap is left undisturbed till the following spring. In the first fine days of March, the moss thus mixed is spread in the air, in order to get it tolerably (but not thoroughly) dry; after which it is put under cover to prevent its getting damp again.

Of the Transplanting of the Pine-apples without Balls. The pots are chosen in proportion to the size of the plants, but they are generally larger than when the plants are to be potted in earth. The apertures at the bottom are, as usual, covered with bits of earthenware, after which the pots are filled in the following manner: We first put in the prepared moss to the depth of three fingers, which is well rammed down, and then thinly covered with manure, salt, or saltpetre. This is continued alternately till the pot is rather more than half full; after which a cylindrical piece of wood, of from 2 to 3 in. in diameter (according to the stoutness of the plant), is placed upright on the moss in the pot, and the latter is then filled to the top with the same substance, with thin sprinklings of salt between the layers as before. The wood is then taken out, and the hole partially filled up with fine good mould. The number of pots thus prepared must be the same as that of the roots to be transplanted.

The propagation of the pine-apple is effected, as it is well known, either by the setting of the sprouts or suckers (proles), or of the crowns (coma).

The suckers are separated from the mother plant by being torn off, after which the fibres which appear in the place where they have been attached are trimmed with a sharp knife, and

the sprouts left three or four days on a board to dry in the hot-house. If the individuals are tolerably strong, the scaly leaves at the trunk are taken off, for the purpose of giving a better opportunity to the new roots for spreading themselves. The crowns are also freed from the fibres at the lower end with a knife, and also dried in the hot-house; and, if necessary, some leaves may be cautiously taken from them at the base. But if it is wished to transfer into moss young or old plants which have taken root in the earth, the mould, on their being taken up, is shaken off, the roots closely cut off the stem (stipes), and the stem cleared of dry leaves, and also of some green ones; which, however, must be done with care. If the stem is too long, or dry or rotten at the base, it must be shortened, and the rotten part cut out. This kind of plants must also be dried in the hot-house like the former.

On transplanting any of the stems, they are placed into the aperture left in the moss, the interstices filled up with fine rich mould, and the whole pressed firm, so as to make the plant stand upright. When the planting is finished, the pots are placed in the pine-apple pits, in a tan bed previously prepared, treating them in the usual manner. I have observed, however, for several years, that pine-apples grown in moss are not so sensitive as those which are grown in earth, and bear watering better; by this, however, I do not mean to say that they are to be kept absolutely wet. Besides being watered, the plants should also be moistened with the following preparation : —

In the month of March I put into a cask, holding about two hogsheads, two bushels of cow-dung, one peck of horn shavings, and from 20 to 24 quarts of bullock's blood, filling the remaining space with water; and I leave it for three or four months to a voluntary fermentation, causing the liquid to be well stirred up about once every week.

-

Use of the Liquid. At the end of those three or four months the fermentation will have been completed, and the liquid may be applied to the pine-apples towards the end of May or the beginning of June, and again in September and October, under the following regulations: When the moss in the pots had got properly dry, I watered the plants copiously with this liquid stirred up, and afterwards each individual plant with clean water, in order to distribute the former equally among the pots. I only used the liquid once, employing water at other times. I used this liquid again in September or October, also for once only, and then again used

pure water.

By this method my plants grew rapidly, having fine green

leaves, and large fruit of from eight to twelve berries, of a fine aromatic taste, much more juicy than those which are grown in mould.

--

Of the Transplanting of Pine-apples with the Balls. — If it is wished to transplant such roots as have been grown in moss, pots of a proportionate size are again selected, which receive a substratum of the mixture of moss and horn shavings, as described before, rammed in in the same manner. The pots

with the plants are then turned over, the latter taken out with the balls, freed from the dry or superfluous green leaves, placed on the substratum in the pot, and the interval between the ball and the pot filled up with the moss mixture, which is properly pressed down, salt having been introduced between the layers as before. It is, however, to be observed, that the plant must always be sunk into the leaves, and no part of the stem beneath them remain uncovered. The sinking of the pots, and the watering, airing, and shading of the plants, require no description.

must, however, mention a useful observation which I have made. In order to simplify and shorten the other process, I planted the pine-apples this year in March, in a soil prepared of im proved loam earth, dung-bed earth, brook slime, and horn shavings, which had such an injurious effect on the plants, that the leaves lost their fine green colour, and faded, and the roots did not show themselves till August, after which the plants certainly again recovered.

But whether this was occasioned by the transfer of the plants from moss into earth, or by the lime which is contained in the two latter kinds of earth, I must find out by farther experiments. I am, Sir, &c.

Bogenhausen, near Munich, Nov. 23. 1828.

JACOB SEIMEL.

ART. XXVIII. Observations on the Management of Vines in the Pinery. By Mr. GEO. FULTON, Gardener to Lord Northwick. Read at the Vale of Evesham Horticultural Society, Sept. 25. 1828.

THE high estimation in which the finer kinds of grapes are held, and the different modes of cultivating the vine in the present day, form an inducement (after considerable practice) for me to state my method, which, although not quite new, may perhaps be regarded as an improvement on the general mode of cultivation.

I prefer raising the plants from eyes of vines to every other mode of propagation, as they root better, are short jointed, and bear more abundantly than by any other method I have adopted or seen practised.

In making a suitable preparation for vines, I agree in the opinion with many, that a good loamy soil, of not too binding a nature, with a considerable proportion of vegetable mould and old tan, is very good for the purpose.

But, with respect to the depth of soil outside of a forcinghouse, I am of opinion, that it is an error to prepare a border 3 or 4 ft. deep (as it is often done): I would rather recommend from two to three, for various reasons. The first is, I believe, a well grounded general opinion, that sun heat penetrates only 3 ft. into the earth; therefore it can be of no use to cause the vine, or any other tree with fibrous roots, to extend them downwards out of the influence of solar heat, except where accidental situation, or other causes, may render it necessary.

Secondly, my practice is to plant shallow, that I may be enabled to add to the border whatever kind of soils or manure I think proper, either in summer or winter : I find this of great use in strengthening the vine, and insuring permanent crops of fruit.

The practice of growing vegetables or flowers near the roots I decidedly disapprove of, not only as shading, but, what is of greater consequence, on account of the actual wearing out of the border from the above manner of cropping it.

To have an attentive eye to the young shoots at an early period of their growth is of great importance; and, to procure round short-jointed wood, my practice is to keep a low tem perature in the night, and a very high one in the day. Vines by such a mode of treatment are not excited in an unnatural degree, and nature is more imitated than exactly followed, which may be said to be the main principle in the art of forcing.

I have frequently in the spring months had the mercury in the thermometer stand at 110° in a pinery early in the day, when, with abundance of moisture, vines have grown very rapidly with round short-jointed, instead of flat long-jointed, shoots, caused by an extreme of fire heat in the night. The observations already made I wish to be understood as applicable to pines as well as vines, where they are necessarily grown together.

It may also be proper to remark, that the well constructed copper-roofed forcing-houses at Northwick Park are no less a credit to the taste of their noble owner, than a great recommendation to those who erected them. I consider metallic hot-houses as forming one of the greatest improvements in