130 ECHINOCACTUS POLYCEPHALUS. — HEDGEHOG CACTUS, 



almost hidden by the mass of dense white wool which surrounds 

 them, so that they cannot add much, if anything, to the beauty 

 of the whole structure. If we analyze this beauty, we shall find 

 that the spines are its principal element. The stiff, circular 

 outline of the body is well broken by these thin, tapering, 

 curved, and exquisitely chiselled appendages. One of them, 

 taken singly, would itself be thought a stiff affair ; but in their 

 somewhat stellate arrangement, and with their varying sizes and 

 crossing and recrossing lines, they are in excellent contrast 

 with, and impart a peculiar air of lightness to, the solid body 

 from which they spring. The reddish hue of the spines also 

 adds to the effect produced by our Cactus, as it serves admira- 

 bly well to heighten the gray-blue green of the body. 



In a consideration of the character of the Cactuses, and in 

 judging of their beauty as compared to other plants, we must 

 never forget the surroundings amidst which they grow, and 

 with which they must harmonize. As we leave the wooded 

 and shady lands of the Eastern States, we come to the far West, 

 with its log-cabins, where, in the language of Bryant, — 



" The flowery prairies from the door stretch till they meet the sky." 



But if we continue our journey even beyond these prairies, we 

 finally come to a region of dry, barren deserts, where everything 

 seems cold and gray, save the hot air that flies trembling 

 upward in the noonday sun. In a place like this, the Cactuses 

 seem just at home, and we must acknowledge that Nature had 

 a very artistic eye when she placed them there. But Nature, in 

 making these plants, was not actuated by artistic motives alone. 

 In the dry places described, plants like our Echinocact7is and 

 its allies are a necessity. They have little growth to make, and 

 as there is but little drain on them by seeds, they need few 

 leaves, and can, therefore, preserve their juices better than other 

 plants. Hence, the stem, to which the globular body of our 

 species corresponds, is the main part, and it is only in the 

 earliest stasfe of jrrowth that we find traces of leaves. But even 



