CACTI 115 
and edges. Tub specimens are usually wintered 
over in the cellar, or at the florist’s. There is an 
unfounded superstition that they bloom once every 
hundred years. They rarely flower when domesti- 
cated. Repot as often as needed, in fairly rich soil, 
while growing. Small plants are quite attractive in 
the house in winter and may be plunged outside in 
summer. The Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia 
splendens) is also quite well known. It makes a long 
tangled vine, full of wicked short thorns and small, 
pretty leaves. The flowers are not large but the 
bright red bracts add a touch of color and the plant 
is covered with them most of the year. It must be 
carefully staked up and trained, a short wide pot 
trellis being the best thing to use. 
“Little Pickles”? (Othonna crassifolia) is quite 
a favorite basket and hanging plant. The odd, 
thick foliage looks like small cucumbers. It must 
be given plenty of light, sunshine if possible, to 
produce its flowers, which are small and yellow, in 
shape like those of the sun pink, but smaller. 
There are a number of other succulents sometimes 
used for house plants, among them the aloes, mesem- 
bryanthemums (fig marigolds), echeverias (E. 
metallica being the best sort), sedums and house 
leeks (Sempervivums), among which S. globiferum, 
“hen-and-chickens,” is the most widely known. 
These do not occupy very important positions, how- 
ever, and space does not permit further description 
here. 
