foot in length, oblong or obovate, more or less attenuated 
at the base, all of them much compressed, flattened, of a 
deep full-green colour, when young having several scat- 
tered, fleshy, curved, subulate leaves, scarcely half an inch 
long, which soon fall off, leaving a white scar. There 
are no spines. . 
The flowers, which are three inches or more long, appear 
in the joints at the extremities of the branches, and gene- 
rally at or near their superior margins. The base is occu- 
pied by the large, fleshy, obovate, truncated, reticulated, 
dark-green germen, whose areole constitute an oblong 
swelling or tubercle, tipped at the apex by a white scar, 
whence small leaf-like processes have fallen, and above 
which is a small fascicle of fine hairs or bristles. This has 
one cell filled with ovules, attached to a curved seedstalk. 
Calyx of many ovate or obovate, very acute, erect, greenish- 
red scales, gradually passing into the broader and larger, 
obtuse, very closely imbricated, connivent, bright rose- 
colored petals. Stamens much protruded, very numerous, 
rose-colored, their base sunk into the top of the Germen, 
forming a cylindrical mass, united below. Filaments 
veryslender. Anthers oblong, pale yellow. Style dilated 
- near the base, but again suddenly contracted at the very 
base, tapering upwards to the length of the stamens, and 
terminated by a cup-shaped sigma, cut into from five to 
eight yellow-green rays. After the falling away of the Calyx, 
Corolla, Stamens, Pistil, a considerable hollow remains 
_ onthe top of the germen, and this latter, scarcely increasing 
in size, or altering its form, becomes a Berry of a fine red 
colour within and without, having, im the centre, a number 
of nearly reniform, compressed seeds, enveloped in pulp. 
There are few tribes of plants that require illustration, 
by the aid of the pencil, more than the Cacrusgs ; they 
cannot be preserved in the Herbarium, nor so easily des- 
cribed in words, as many other plants. An idea, too, has 
been very generally current, that they are liable to much 
variation ; but from what we have ourselves seén of them in 
a state of cultivation, we think ourselves warranted in 
considering them to be tolerably constant to their character. 
With regard, too, to that icular species of Cactus, 
which nourishes the Cochineal Insect, much doubt has ex- 
isted ; and we believe it must be allowed, that our plant, 
which was named by Linnaus, and has been almost uni- 
versally called the C.: cochinillifer, is not that which pro- 
duces the best Mexican Cochineal ; nor are we prepared to 
say, 
