I88s.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



265 



the handsomest is E. Ottonis ; the flower also is 

 splendid although not fragrant. 



Cereus, are my favorites, especially the night- 

 bloomers. I have a C. nycticaulis, raised from a 

 three-inch cutting three years ago, that to this 

 date {July 6th) has opened sixteen flowers this 

 season and hns yet twenty-one buds to open. 

 Until this year 1 kept it growing to one stem, in a 

 6-inch pot and trained it along the roof of my 

 small greenhouse, where it received plenty of sun- 

 light during winter. It made a growth of fifteen 

 feet in two siMsons. I have about ten other 

 varieties of night-bloomers, but I find but little 

 variation in the flowers, except as to size and 

 perfume. The true red bloomer, Cereus Schmidti, 

 has not bloomed for me yet, neither has the variety 

 sent to me from Mexico as a red night-bloomer ; 

 (three Mexicans swear to it) and of which I do 

 not know the name. 



The Astrophytum myriostigma, called in Europe 

 " Bonnet d'evOque," (Bishop's hood) is a very in- 

 teresting Cactus, being, I believe, the only one 

 without spines. I don't see how Aloe longiaristata 

 could ever have been mistaken for it. 



Philadelphia. 



CULTURE OF THE CACTI. 

 BY N. ROBERTSON. 



I am glad that my brief article has brought 

 out Mr. Siler's remarks, for they are such as all 

 growers may benefit by. The instances he gives 

 are in accord with my ideas, only in so far as their 

 ability to endure cold is concerned. What I said 

 was not to show what amount of cold they could 

 stand ; 45- was only intended as a general storage 

 temperature. Some of the species might be bene- 

 fited by a lower and perhaps a higher ; but I have 

 always been very successful at this and mine is a 

 very mixed collection. If we get to a lower tem- 

 perature than what I have mentioned the air is 

 sure to become so pregnant with moisture during 

 our long winter months as to be injurious. We 

 dare not ventilate from the outside during winter, 

 and the sun's rays have very little power. Mr. Siler 

 has mistaken the intention of my article, for I had 

 no idea of giving how much cold they would 

 stand. He says, " I do not know how cold it is in 

 Canada at 45°, but here in Utah," enumerating 

 different species that will stand out in their native 

 places, and do well with frost 22° below zero. 

 Some of those I have tried with our winters and 

 although I have in some cases resorted to covering, 

 protecting in the dryest manner, when spring came 



I invariably found them a rotten mass. But I 

 must remark that our temperature falls frequently 

 below those he gives. Yet, I find they suffer from 

 a very few degrees of frost. The reason why, I 

 am not prepared to say. It would be a good thing 

 if they could be left out permanently, for they are 

 not the most agreeable things to handle of the 

 vegetable kingdom. " 



As to his finding a number of Agave Utahense 

 and Mamillaria vivipara, standing in water and 

 in health, this will be a new thing to most growers 

 of them. Surely Mr. Siler does not infer that this 

 is the belter mode of treatment ; if he does, why 

 then give us the natural state in which they are 

 found in the greatest perfection ? He says (enu- 

 merating several species) that they grow on the 

 well-drained hillsides, and on the sandstone ledges, 

 in many instances with hardly enough to cover 

 the roots. Other two are found exposed to the 

 fierce heat of the summer's sun "where hardly a 

 lizzard is to be found," and that this agave is 

 found on the same ledge is enough to prove the 

 treatment they will enjoy most. 



His remarks on the soil they are found in will 

 be most interesting to all parties interested in the 

 Cacti culture, for I know that much diversity of 

 opinion exists on this. Mine may not be the best 

 one, but it has proved to me the best alternative 

 I have yet found. It must also be remembered 

 that no amount of water in the positions in which 

 they are found can lodge in such a way as to 

 stagnate, and hurt them. When planted out 

 under the same conditions I say, pour away as 

 much water as you like when they are growing, 

 and you will benefit them ; but at rest, if you want 

 flowers the next season, it will be better to refrain 

 from it. This partial drying process has always 

 given me good results whilst the other has proved 

 the contrary. 



I quite agree with the Editor's remarks, that 

 under culture we cannot always rely on imitating 

 natural conditions. We must learn from experi- 

 ence. I say, yes, and often improve upon it, for it 

 is a most difficult task to get close to nature and 

 take in all surroundings and all other things 

 adapted to positions chosen. 



But an understanding of the natural laws and 

 substances that control the production of such 

 plants must always prove beneficial and con- 

 ducive to their proper treatment ; and I am sure 

 that Mr. Siler's remarks on this subject will be 

 much appreciated by all lovers of this class of 

 plants ; a class that deserves more attention than 

 there has been given, for they always make a 



