ways ; either the whole of the species with ribbed, and round 
or oblong stems may be placed in Echinocactus, and the rest 
in Cereus, without regard to the flowers; or all the long 
flowered species may be placed in Cereus, and those with 
short flowers in Echinocactus, without regard to habit. In 
either case there are difficulties, for there are species whose 
flowers are intermediate between the long-tubed and short- 
tubed forms, and others whose stems are intermediate between 
the round and the cylindrical, or flattened or long condition. 
On this account itseems to me better to take the stem as the 
distinctive character, because it is the most obvious, unless it 
should be thought better to combine Echinocactus and 
Cereus into one genus, 
REA E Ci iE CAE a 
FS 
re dic X 
The seeds should be sown in silver-sand and very slightly | 
covered ; they should then be placed in a dry bottom heat 
and covered with a bell-glass. The young plants should be 
potted in pots of the smallest size, well drained, and chiefly 
in sand. Afterwards the soil used should never be too rich, 
and well mixed with broken stones or bricks. The plant 
may be preserved in a cool dry house where the temperature 
1$ very low, but a slight bottom heat in the growing season ÀJ 
will always be found to suit it best. z 
E It seldom sends out shoots from its sides, and therefore it- - 
is difficult to obtain cuttings; but where propagation is of 
more consequence than a specimen plant, it should be cut 
across, when the top part will form one plant, and the bottom 
will send out shoots from the sides of the cut. Cuttings 
Should be treated precisely in the same way as seedlings. 
