Fruit produced. He says nothing of the weight of the fruit, but he calculates on fruiting the plants in two years, and ripening the fruit only in summer and autumn, or between July and October inclusive; and he prefers the Queen Pine to all others.
Sect. VI.
Culture of the Pine Apple by William Speechly, gardener to his Grace the Duke of Portland, at Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, 1779.
The culture of the Pine, Mr. Speechly observes, has already been treated of by many persons, who have varied much in the methods they have recommended. Far from meaning to depreciate their labours, he adds, “my advice and pretensions rest solely upon the success which I have met with in my experiments.” He went to serve the Duke of Portland in 1767, and published his book after eleven years’ experience. He continued at Welbeck till about the year 1800.
Form of House. The great object of Mr. Speechly seems to have been to combine the culture of the Pine and Vine; and for this purpose he adopted one form both for his succession and fruiting-house; training Vines up the rafters, and on the upper part of the back wall.
6
In many places small stoves of a particular construction (in the which the Pines stand very near the glass) are erected solely for the purpose of Fruiting-houses. These, from their being always kept up to a high degree of heat, are by gardeners usually termed Roasters. ([fig. 7.]) When there is such conveniency, it is customary, when any Pine-plants show fruit in the large stoves, to remove such plants (especially the most promising) directly into the fruiting-house; where, from the high degree of heat kept, they generally swell their fruit astonishingly.
It is observable that Pines always succeed best in stoves that have been newly erected; on which account, some of the more curious in the cultivation of this fruit have judged it expedient to pull down and rebuild their Pine-stoves every ten or twelve years. Although I cannot subscribe to such expensive mode of procedure, I shall here beg to state the many advantages that accrue from keeping Pine-stoves in good and proper repair.
First, by keeping the flues clean from soot, and air-proof, they will heat the house better, and much less fuel will serve.