ed, 6 in.
to 8 in. in diameter, and bright shining green. Tubercles smooth, round,
11/2 in. long, furrowed across the top, which is at first filled with wool,
but when old is naked. At the base of the tubercles there is a dense
tuft of white wool, and springing from the furrows are eight radiating
recurved spines, and three short central ones, all strong, stiff, and
ivory-white, tipped with brown. The flowers are 3 in. wide, and are
composed of a circle of violet-coloured sepals, with white margins, and
a second circle of petals which are bright rose, pale purple at the
base, a line of the same colour extending all down the middle. The
stamens are numerous, with long purple filaments and yellow anthers, and
the pistil is stout, erect, projecting above the stamens, with a
radiating stigma. Flowers in autumn; native country, Paraguay. Under
cultivation, it grows quicker than is usual with plants of this genus,
and it is also exceptional in the regular and abundant production of its
flowers. It has been a rarity in European collections for many years,
and, although easily grown, it is often killed through wrong treatment.
A cool greenhouse or sunny frame in summer, plenty of water whilst
growth is active, and a light, well-drained soil, suit it best; whilst
during winter it must be kept perfectly dry, and protected only from
frost. In a tropical house, it is invariably sickly, and altogether
unsatisfactory.

[Illustration: FIG. 60. MAMILLARIA ELIPHANTIDENS.]

M. elongata (elongated).--A small, cushion-like kind, with the stems in
tufts, owing to their producing offsets freely from the base, the
tallest of them being about as high and as thick as a man's thumb. The
tubercles are short, crowded, and hidden under the star-clusters of
reddish-yellow spines. There are no central spines in this kind. The
flowers are produced in the axils of the tubercles from all parts of the
stem, a large tuft of stems being thickly studded with circles of tawny
yellow petals, which are only about 1/2 in. long. The berries are bright
coral-red, and about the size of a date stone. There are several
varieties of this species, under the names of intertexta, rufescens,
rutila, subcrocea, and supertexta. These differ only slightly either in
the length or thickness of the stems or in the colour of the spines. All
of them may be grown in a cold frame, or in a window where the sun can
shine upon them; or they may be grown along with tropical kinds. Fo