58 G LENNY S HANDBOOK 



They are grotesque looking objects when out of flower, having 

 fleshy, moie or less angular, lengthened stems, in which 

 latter particular they difl'er from the FcJiiiiocactl and Melo- 

 cacti, which are distinguished as " dwarf Cacti." The most 

 gaudy of the genus is the Cereiis speciosissimus, which has 

 large splendid blossoms of a rich ciimson scarlet, with a 

 violaceous tint on the inner petals : the plants grow from 

 five to eight or ten feet high, though they blossom when much 

 smaller. C. [irandljiorus has large yellowish-white flowers, 

 that expand only at night. C. fiagelliformis, the creeping 

 Cereus, with its long, slender, drooping, tail-like stems, is 

 another favourite. As objects of curiosity, C. senilis, the 

 Old-man Cactus, which has a short, stout, upright, oblong 

 stem, covered over with dense, hair-like, greyish, hanging 

 bristles, like the grey head of an old man; C. monstrosus, an 

 irregular fleshy mass, almost like a green rock ; and C. hexa- 

 gomis, a stout, erect species, attaining considerable height, 

 and, when large, very remarkable, from its column-like ap- 

 pearance, may be specially mentioned. The soil best suited 

 for these is two parts peat, one part broken potsherds, sifted 

 through a coarse sieve, one part loam or old mortar rubbish, 

 and one part dung ; these all mixed well together, and perfect 

 drainage secured. The plants should stand out of doors, in 

 a sheltered situation, from the time they have done flowering 

 till September, and then Ije removed to the greenhouse, all 

 the parts of shoots that have no bloom-buds being cut back 

 to just beyond the buds. If whole shoots are without these 

 buds, and the shoot is not wanted to form a well-shaped 

 p.lant, remove them, and cut back all those that spring out 

 of tlie main stem to three bloomhuds, or, if they have none, 

 to within two inches of the main stem. The plants should 

 be confined to half a dozen or eight main stems, and while 

 these are in health and vigour let none come up from the 

 bottom : those that grow from the sides may be saved just 

 so far as they have bloom, until the flowering is over, and 

 should then be cut away within two inches of the stem. This 

 mode of pruning will be proper for C. speciosissimus and those 

 of similar habits. The C. flagelli/ormis is always best grown 

 with the long slender branches drooping over the edge of the 

 pot, and requires no pruning. The plants should be without 



