18YT.] 



AND HORTIGULTURIST. 



311 



picta, all painted and gay ; with shining nitida, 

 beautiful formosa, lovely venusta, and the many 

 dotted pluri-punctata, and poor warty verrucosa. 

 The few named, will give an idea of the many 

 left unmentioned. 



The genus Haworthia, is cousin-german to the 

 Aloes and Gasterias, and their beauty is at par, 

 with any previously quoted. They are a safe 

 investment, which will always realize their full 

 face value. Such stock, though often watered, 

 never depreciates. Tney are worth just as much 

 to-day, as they were when H. retusa, and H. mu- 

 tica, were first in the market, in 1720. H. albi- 

 cans, H. margaritifera, H. mirabilis, H. toi'tella, 

 H. venosa, H. Isevis, H. cordata, and H. translu- 

 cens, were at the time of which I write, inmates 

 of all good greenhouses. 



The little Apicra coterie is not so numerous, 

 but, is nevertheless, a very select and pleasant 

 company. They are prim, precise, and peculiar. 

 A. pentagona, A. aspera, A. spiralis, A. nigra, 

 and A. imbricata, are fair specimens of the set. 



Kalanchoe, is the name of a small, but very 

 handsome genus ; but seldom seen now-a-days. 

 K. acutiflora, K. rotundifolia, and K. negyptica, 

 are the most remarkable kinds of the antique 

 group. 



Cotyledons seem to belong to the arabesque 

 style of plants. C. clavica, C. spinosa, C. caespi- 

 tosa, and 0. cristata, will serve as examples. 



As the wi'iter looks back along the vistas of 

 time, and sees within the old dry stove, their 

 quaint forms, still unchanged, the scenes of 

 other days, and their pleasant memories, come 

 up again with all the freshness of youth. 



Of the Cereus grandiflorus, or night-blooming 

 Cereus, to which previous allusion is made, there 

 still remains much to say. A large specimen, 

 which had frequently bloomed before the writer's 

 time, was about to bloom again. For some time 

 he had watched the embryo flowers from their 

 first appearance, as day by day, thej' gradu- 

 ally increased in size ; until one day late in the 

 leafy month of June, they gave unmistakable 

 indications of soon expanding. My kind pre- 

 ceptor was a sort of garden prophet, whose 

 opinions in matters Floricultural, or Horticul- 

 tural, no one doubted. No word, or warning, 

 from Delphic oracle of old, was ever more em- 

 phatic than his; and as he prognosticated, so 

 had the flowers progressed. Well, this very 

 June morning, he informed the writer that one 

 of the blooms would assuredly open during the 

 coming night; and it was unanimouslj' agreed 



that himself, wife, and daughter, should keep a 

 becoming vigil, at the floral shrine of the night- 

 blooming beauty. I, of course, being equally 

 interested, was to be one of the watchers, 

 and was specially charged to keep a sharp 

 lookout for the coming event. 



The evening was as calm and serene as could 

 be desired, while, in anxious expectation, the 

 hours passed slowly by. During this time, I 

 had frequently gone to and from th^ succulent 

 house to report progress at the gardener's cottage. 

 At about eight o'clock, I perceived the floral 

 globe was gradually enlarging, and from thence 

 continued to visibly change until eleven. All 

 of which was duly reported at the cottage. In 

 all haste, pretty Rose and I started to take 

 another look at the remarkable flower, so fast 

 unfolding. 



The glorious disk, or star-like flowers, with its 

 glistening whity-yellow petals, so precisely laid, 

 and evenly arranged around a lustrous profusion 

 of long, silky stamens, gracefully drooping from 

 the centre, was in the highest degree of translu- 

 cent splendor. Emitting the most delightful 

 and exquisite odor possible, it eminently merited 

 the designation of grandiflora. Like many a 

 beautiful flower, and pleasant hour, it soon 

 passed away. But the remembrance of it, and 

 the evening's associations, never will ; until all 

 things earthly are forgotten, and the writer too, 

 passes away. 



There is still much left unsaid about succulent 

 plants; but how to grow them must not be 

 omitted. Pot culture has many advantages, and 

 will continue to be the one most generally 

 adopted. Yet, a properly constructed house, in 

 which they could be planted out, in the more 

 natural way, would be the most appropriate. 

 Having constructed Fern houses, with miniature 

 mountains, rocks and ravines, so, would I sug- 

 gest the formation of a succulent house. Any 

 good friable loam, with a fiiir portion of sand 

 ar.d crushed charcoal, will grow them. With 

 proper drainage, and careful watering, tliey will 

 grow in any ordinary greenhouse; if the tem- 

 perature, during the Winter months, can be 

 maintained at about 60°. While in the Summer 

 season, they will derive heat enough from Old 

 Sol. There is danger of the broad-leaved kinds 

 blistering in bright, hot, sunny weather, unless 

 the glass is made slightly obscure. Nothing can 

 be better adapted than they for the dwelling; 

 house windows. A light room, or bay-window, 

 would suit them exactly. If a rustic stand, of a 



