34 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ February, 
to die off, or to become so weakly as to be useless for fruit-bearing purposes ; and 
in such cases the removal of these branches becomes a matter of necessity, and 
their place must be kept furnished by an annual lowering of the upper ones, so as 
always to keep the centre of the tree open. This is imperative, for if the centre 
shoots, to which all the strength of the trees naturally tend, are not kept in check, 
the lower shoots will inevitably perish sooner than they otherwise need do; and 
this is far better and more efficiently prevented by lowering the branches from 
the centre, than, by a too free use of the knife in the centre of the trees, which 
is sometimes resorted to as a remedy. Merely pinching back the strong growth 
during the growing season, is not enough in this advanced stage, owing to the 
tendency of the sap to flow most freely into the more vertical shoots, and hence 
the necessary restriction is best attained by frequently lowering the branches in 
training, for so long as the tree maintains a reasonable degree of vitality, it will 
always make its strongest growth at the centre, thus furnishing a continuation of 
branches to be brought down to take the place of the lower worn-out and ej^ete 
branches, which have lost the power of attracting a sufficient amount of sap 
to preserve themselves in a profitable, fruit-bearing condition. 
This process, when carefully carried out, will not materially interfere with the 
symmetrical proportions of the tree for some years ; but even if it did, symmetry, 
after all, is not the great desideratum ; but a reasonable quantity of fruit, not all 
crowded together on a few branches at the upper part of the walls, but equally 
distributed as far as may be possible over most of the surface. In old trees, 
symmetrical training must be made subserviant to utility.— John Cox, Bedleaf. 
CYCAS NOEMANBYANA. 
f N this new Australian Cycad we have a welcome addition to a group of ex¬ 
ceedingly interesting plants, which as yet scarcely enjoy the popularity to 
? which their variety, their beauty, and the remarkable persistency of their 
leaves entitle them. The present subject is fitted for greenhouse cultivation. 
The leaves are pinnately divided, with a dorsally compressed petiole, having 
both faces angular, and these covered with furfuraceous down, a prominent ridge 
being carried up the face of the furfuraceous rachis. The outline of the lamina 
is oblong-ovate, the segments numerous, contiguous, linear, about 6 in. long and 
^ in. wide, very sharp-pointed, almost spiny, slightly narrowed and decurrent at 
the base, glabrous on the upper surface. It has been recently imported from 
New South Wales by Mr. Bull, and Dr. Mueller is sponsor for the name. Our 
figure (see opposite page) is from Mr. Bull’s Catalogue. —T. Moore. 
ALPINE AUEICULAS. 
HE Alpine Auriculas are deserving of every encouragement, for they are 
very beautiful objects in the spring-time, and even when they are out of 
flower, their distinct, white-powdered leaves form a beautiful edging. Wo 
have a long edging here, 9 in. wide and some 150 ft. long, at the back of 
