made, is a branched dark-green bush, consisting of joints 

 6 or 7 inches long and an inch or three quarters of an inch 

 wide in the broadest part, nearly round at their base, but 

 very perceptibly flattened towards the point. From each 

 of the little tufts of hairs there proceed several spines, of 

 which two or three are considerably larger than the rest. 

 The flowers are of a clear bright yellow colour, about an 

 inch and a half wide when expanded, with a column of 

 white stamens in their centre. 



The treatment that this requires is the ordinary manage- 

 ment of the dry stove. It is a very free grower, and less 

 impatient of cold than many of the order; readily multi- 

 plied by its jointed branches. 



Every one knows that the spines of the Cacti are always 

 difficult to extract when they have entered the skin. If 

 the spines are magnified, it will be found that this property 



is owing 



eing closely covered from the point d 



wards with numerous barbs, which have their cutting bases 

 directed towards the base of the spine : in appearance they 

 are very like the arrow-heads, with several rows of barbs, 

 such as are used by certain Indian nations. 



The 



lent, and the branches can 



substance of this plant is extremely 



wood. It is, however, obvious, that 



cely be said to contain 



the internal parts 



lged upon the same plan as in other Dicotyledonous 



If a transverse section is made of it, it will be seen 



bark is represented by a thick layer of cells planted 



perpendicularly in rows upon the epidermis, with their 



s directed towards the centre; within these cells 

 . formed by several bundles of woody fibre enclosing 



spiral vessels ; these bundles do not touch each other 



they derive their origin from the 



the commencement of a woody structure. y 



these bundles is a mass of loosely cohering oval 



5 



th 



buds, and are evidently 



Every thing 



placed confusedly, and containing 



of starlike cry 



The 



leathery that it may be 



„ hard to the touch, and 



ly torn off the subjacent 



J ' " small 



sided 



ghness is owing to its being composed of 



nucleus, whicl 



i 



in each of which is a firm, flat, lentiform 

 11 bear cutting in every direction. What 





