CACTACEOUS TLANTS. 139 



Melo-cactus.— Under this name are arranged the globular, melon-like Cacti. They 

 are mostly flattened on the upper surface, more or less ribbed, and with smaller and 

 fewer spines than the L'chtno-caeti. Flowers produced not from the ribs, but from 

 the upper part of the surface. 



Opuntia.— The Indian Fig section, composed of species with jointed stems, the 

 joints being mostly of an oval-flattened form. Some of them have round, candle- 

 like stems,° and many of them produce yellow flowers. They are, however, very 

 rarely seen in cultivation as window plants. 



This enumeration of the chief differences of the sections will assist our readers 

 to classify those species in their possession ; but, lest they should be alarmed at the 

 idea of having to pursue a different treatment in each case, we hasten to add, that 

 there is but little variation in the culture of the species. Our remarks will, 

 therefore, be understood as applicable to all the above-named sections. 



With a very few exceptions, Cactaceous plants are natives of the most arid and 

 parched regions of tropical America. Many of them flourish in the clefts of rocks, 

 specially in volcanic districts, and in localities in which rain seldom falls but 

 during a brief period of the year. In short, they exist in places where nothing else 

 will do so, the peculiar structure of their skin enabling them to retain for a long 

 period the fluid absorbed during the rainy season, and even those species which 

 assume a withered flaccid appearance during the long droughts, retain their vitality, 

 and quickly revive when moisture falls. 



A consideration of these facts will at once render it evident, that the Cacti 

 should, at all seasons, be exposed to the strongest light attainable in this country; 

 on no account should they be grown in a shaded window. 



Another essential point in their cultivation, scarcely less important than the 

 preceding, is the employment of porous, well-drained soil. We do not think that 

 the precise nature of the soil is material, provided it be not retentive of moisture. 

 Sandy loam, with a very little leaf mould, and a few fragments of lime rubbish, 

 will suit most of the species. A compact strong loam will be improper, as well as 

 any very rich soil. The pots should be drained for at least one-third of their depth ; 

 if large, they may be half filled with broken crocks, which may be made small at 

 top, to prevent the soil from getting into the interstices. 



But the chief condition to successful cultivation of the Cacti, is the withholding 

 of water during the autumn and winter seasons. During the summer months they 

 may be freely watered, especially when well drained, for in that case all superfluous 

 moisture rapidly passes off ; but from the middle of August the supplies should be 

 gradually diminished, until the end of September or beginning of October, when it 

 should be entirely withheld. From October to March they should be kept dry, but 

 be placed where they will receive the full influence of the sun's rays. If they 

 should look a little the worse for this starving process, it need excite no alarm, the 



