March 6, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
189 
heated pit frame would be more useful, and is far preferable. Air 
and light can be more freely given.— A Foreman. 
I beg to offer a few remarks, as suggested by your correspondent Mr. 
C. H. Stephens, on our mode of cultivating this most useful and showy 
winter decorative plant, hoping they will be useful to some of your 
younger readers. When the plants have flowered, or rather after the 
bracts fall, they are placed in a warm house and allowed to rest until 
about the end of April, when they are watered, and a little extra heat 
employed to induce them to break. As soon as the young shoots have 
made three or four joints they are taken off with a heel and inserted 
singly in thumb pots, using a compost of equal parts of loam, leaf mould, 
and sand, then plunged in a propagating frame. After they are rooted 
we place them in an intermediate house, where they are grown during 
the summer along with other useful winter-flowering plants, such as 
Begonias, Sericographis, and Thyrsacanthus. The young plants are 
carefully attended to as regards watering and potting, 7-inch pots being 
the largest size we use. 
After the first shift we employ a larger proportion of loam, with a 
little peat and old Mushroom-bed manure. The plants are kept near the 
glass, ventilating on all favourable occasions, lightly shading them from 
midday sun. When they have completed their growth and commenced 
to form bracts we place them in the stove, and water occasionally with 
soot water. As the heads become fully developed they are taken into 
the show house, where they give a grand display for fully three months. 
We have plants in bloom now that have been so since the end of 
November. By this method we have had heads over 20 inches in 
diameter. We confine our stock to young plants. It must be stated 
that we apply a top-dressing once or twice of Yille’s Normal manure, 
which invigorates the plants, giving the leaves a rich green hue, and 
I think the bracts last considerably longer. We find it beneficial for all 
softwooded plants.—J. Saunderson. 
PEACH TREES—EXTENSION v. RESTRICTION. 
I am much interested in the extension of Peach and Nectarine trees, 
but I have never yet seen the system properly defined. If I am not mis¬ 
taken Mr. Simpson claims credit as being the author of the extension 
system “pure and simple,” and perhaps he can throw some light upon the 
subject. It appears to me that extension may be defined in much the 
same way as an eminent doctor defined “ moderation ” when speaking on 
the temperance cause. The doctor on asking for a definition of the term 
which had been advocated by a certain society, said his own was “any¬ 
thing between a glass and a barrel; ” so with extension, it is anything 
between 1 yard and 20. I am perfectly aware that it is not difficult for a 
Peach and Nectarine tree six, seven, or eight years to have a spread of 
branches of 25 to 30 feet on each side of the main stem. If a tree had 
been allowed to extend and fill that amount of trellis in the time indicated 
it would be called the extension system “ pure and simple.” Would a 
tree of this description yield the same lengthened succession of fruit as 
two or three trees would do of different varieties if they filled the same 
space ? Suppose a cultivator has a house 25 feet long, and a tree is 
planted in the centre and allowed to fill the whole house, grown on the 
extension system, how can the extension system be further earned out ? 
As far as I can see extension ends, and a restrictive system must follow. 
Mr. Simpson, although he advocates extension, is following a system of 
restriction, for he says “ These have had to be shortened back, and the 
trees root-pruned more than once to restrain over-luxuriance.” What is 
this done for, if not to restrict the trees to a certain space, or else why 
not allow them to extend? If trees are root-pruned to prevent them 
extending, restriction commences and the extension system ends.— 
A Working Gardener. 
ELECTION OF CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES. 
THE ELECTORS’ RETURNS. 
[The names of the raisers of the varieties in the following lists have been given in 
the previous returns.] 
From Mr. E. Adams, Swalwell, Gateshead. 
CARNATIONS. 
Scarlet Bizarres. 
Admiral Curzon 
George 
Mercury 
Mars 
Sir J. Paxton 
True Briton 
Crimson Bizarres. 
Black Diamond 
John Harland 
J. D. Hextall 
John Simonite 
Jenny Lind 
Rifleman 
Warrior 
Pink and Purple Bizarres. 
William Skirving 
Falconbridge 
James Taylor 
Sarah Payne 
Unexpected 
Purple Flakes. 
Dr. Foster 
Earl of Stamford 
James Douglas 
Juno 
Premier 
Squire Meynell 
Scarlet Flakes. 
Annihilator 
Clipper 
Dan Godfrey 
John Ball 
Sportsman 
John Bay ley 
Rose Flakes. 
Apollo 
James Merry weather 
John Keet 
Sybil 
Flora’s Garland 
PICOTEES. 
Heavy Red-edged. 
Brunette 
Exhibition 
John Smith 
Mrs. Dodwell 
Queen of Summer 
Light Red-edged. 
Elsie Grace 
Mrs. Bower 
Thomas William 
Violet Douglas 
Heavy Purple-edged. 
Alliance 
Fanny 
Mrs. A. Chancellor 
Mrs. Niven 
Zerlina 
Tinnie 
Light Purple-edged. 
Ann Lord 
Clara Penson 
Her Majesty 
Mary 
Minnie 
Mrs. Harland 
Heavy Scarlet or Rise-edged. 
Edith Dombrain 
Fanny Hellen 
Lady Louisa 
Miss Horner 
Mrs. Payne 
Royal Visit 
Light Rose or Scarlet-edged. 
Morning Star 
Mrs. Adams 
Northern Star 
Mrs. Williams 
Miss Wood 
Mrs. Allcroft 
From Mr. Samuel Brown, Birmingham. 
CARNATIONS. 
Scarlet Bizarres. 
Fred 
Admiral Curzon 
Alfred Hudson 
Edward Adams 
Philip Thomas 
Robert Lord 
Crimson Bizarres. 
Master Fred 
E. S. Dodwell 
Harrison Weir 
Millie 
Squire Dodwell 
Thomas Moore 
Pink and Purple Bizarres. 
Sarah Payne 
Mrs. Barlow 
Unexpected 
Squire Llewelyn 
Squire Penson 
T. S. Ware 
Heavy Red-edged. 
Emmeline 
Picturata 
Dr. Abercrombie 
John Smith 
Dr. Epps 
John Ball 
Light Red-edged. 
Thomas William 
Mrs. Gorton 
Elsie Grace 
Mrs. Bower 
Sarah Elizabeth 
Arbitration 
Muriel 
Heavy Purple-edged. 
Mrs. A. Chancellor 
Indispensable 
Robin Hood 
Zerlina 
Tinnie 
Scarlet Flakes. 
Jupiter 
Harry Matthews 
Lady Curzon 
John Ball 
Clipper 
Dan Godfrey 
Purple Flakes. 
Florence Nightingale 
James Douglas 
Dr. Foster 
Esther 
Earl of Wilton 
President 
Rose Flakes. 
Mrs. Green 
Jessica 
Sybil 
Miss Erskine Wemyss 
John Keet 
James Carter 
PICOTEES. 
Light Purple-edged. 
Her Majesty 
Clara Penson 
Evelyn 
Baroness Burdett Coutts 
Mary 
Minnie 
Heavy Rose-edged. 
Constance Heron 
Mrs. Payne 
Edith Dombrain 
Royal Visit 
Louisa 
Mrs. Rudd 
Miss Gorton 
Light Rose-edged. 
Lady Carrington 
Evelyn 
Mrs. Allcroft 
Nellie 
Daisy 
BAUERA RUBI01DES. 
An evergreen greenhouse shrub, having somewhat slender erect 
branches, the young shoots having crimson bark and whitish hairs, the 
leaves arranged in whorls of five or six, which give to the plant a very 
elegant appearance. The flowers are produced from the base of the 
whorl of leaves in profusion, being stellate in form, about half an inch 
across, and of a pale rose colour. It flowers for several months in the 
year, generally in the late winter and early spring months, hut is more or 
less a continuous bloomer, and being of free growth soon forms a good 
specimen. It does well under the treatment given to Australian plants 
generally, and in a compost of loam, peat, and leaf soil, with a free ad¬ 
mixture of sand. Being of straggling habit it should be cut in after 
flowering, and potting deferred until it has started into free growth again. 
In a dry atmosphere it is subject to red spider, but that can be kept 
under by free syringing on fine days.—G. A. 
[A figure of this plant was given in our pages, July 5th, 1883, with 
historical and descriptive notes.] 
CACTACEOUS PLANTS. 
PELECYPHORA, Ehrenberg. 
(The Hatchet Cactus.) 
In a botanical point of view this genus and the following one are the 
most interesting in the family. They are both monotypic that is, con¬ 
tain one species each, and are remarkable for certain structural peculiarities 
that have attracted much attention from students of the order.. Pelecy- 
phora is dlosely related to the Mamillarias, having a short cylindrical stem, 
covered with mamifix or tubercles of a flattened form, and which have 
