58 



CHAM^DOREA. 



the flowers, "vvliich are of a beautiful 

 pink, grow out of the bark of the 

 stem and branches, and not like 

 those of other plants, among the 

 leaves ; these flowers have an agree- 

 ably acid taste, and when fried in 

 batter, make excellent fritter. The 

 common Judas-tree is a native of 

 the Levant, and it is frequently 

 grown against a wall, producing its 

 flowers in April ; but the American 

 kind, C canadensis, is quite hardy. 

 They both produce abundance of 

 seeds, and grow best in a deep sandy 

 loam, rather rich than poor. 



Ce'reus. — Cactdcece. — The Torch 

 Thistle. — One of the genera into 

 which the Linnoean genus Cactus is 

 now divided. This genus was first 

 formed by Mr. Haworth, who made 

 it consist only of all the Cacti that 

 had long angular or round stems ; 

 but modern botanists include in it 

 those of the short round stemmed 

 porcupine Cacti, that have long tube- 

 shaped flowers. Of the true kinds 

 of Cereus, which are still generally 

 the only ones kno^wTi by that name 

 ia most private collections and nur- 

 series, the best known are C. spe- 

 ciosissimus, the crimson-flowered 

 Torch Thistle, and its hybrids and 

 varieties, the stems of which are 

 erect and angular, and the flowers 

 dark crimson ; C. flarjelliformis, 

 the Creeping Cereus, the long round 

 stems of which hang down like cords, 

 and the flowers of which are pink ; 

 and C. gi-andijldrus, the Night- 

 blowing Cereus, the flowers of which 

 are white and yellow. A new kind 

 of Night-blowing Cereus has been 

 lately introduced, called ]\Irs. Mac- 

 donald's, with flowers 14 inches in 

 diameter. One of the handsomest 

 species of the genus is, however, 

 C. crenatus Lindl., which flowered 

 for the first time in England in 1843. 

 The plant resembles C. speciosissi- 

 mus, but the flowers are like those 



of the Night-blon'ing Cereus ; they 

 have the advantage, however, of 

 opening in the daytime, and remain- 

 ing expanded a week or more. The 

 Old Man's Head> or Monkey Cactus, 

 Cereus senilis, which is covered 

 with long white hairs, is more 

 curious than ornamental ; but it 

 well deserves a place in every col- 

 lection from its singular appearance, 

 which is, however, most striking 

 when the plants are small. All the 

 kinds of Cereus only require green- 

 house heat ; they should all be grown 

 in loam mixed with pounded brick 

 and lime-rubbish, in pots well 

 drained with cinders ; and they all 

 require abundance of air and Ught. 

 It is best to give them a season of 

 rest when they have done flowering ; 

 and this is done by removing them 

 to a colder house and withholding 

 water. If, however, they are con- 

 tinued in the same house in which 

 they were flowered, the supply of 

 water should be lessened, but not 

 stopped entirely. In other respects 

 their culture resembles that of the 

 other Cacti. — See Ca'ctus. 



Ce'strum. — Solanacece. — A 

 genus of stove and greenhouse plants, 

 most of which have ornamental 

 flowers and poisonous ben-ies. Some 

 of the species are fragrant, but 

 others have a very disagreeable 

 smell. The most ornamental kind 

 is C. aurantiacum, a native of 

 Guatemala, which was introduced 

 in 1846. It is a greenhouse plant, 

 with bright orange flowers, which, 

 in winter are succeeded by white 

 pear-shaped berries, which conti- 

 nue to hang on after the leaves have 

 fallen. 



Chalk. — Carbonate of Lime. — 

 See Earths. 



CHAMiEBu'xrs. — A kind of Poly- 

 gala. 



Cham^do'rea. — PalmacecB. — 

 A very curious genus of Dwarf 



