C AC 



110 



C AC 



Being produced in a large pulpy berry, 

 this never bursts of itself; but its ap- 

 pearance will tell you when it is mature. 

 All the treatment they require is, to 

 remove the pulpy matter from them, 

 and this may be best done by wash- 

 ing."' — Ga7-d. Chron. 



Grafting. — The end of August is the 

 best time for this operation, and Mr. 

 Green, already quoted, gives these di- 

 rections : — 



" I grow for stocks, Pereskia acu- 

 leate, Cereus hexagonus, and Cereus 

 speciosissimus. I prefer the latter on 

 account of its hardy, lasting, and robust 

 habit. I grow the stocks freely till 

 they attain the height that I want them. 

 Some I grow with five or six stems, 

 from one to five feet high ; others I 

 grow with one stem, from one to four 

 feet. The short stems I engraft at the 

 top with the Emphyllum speciosum, and 

 Ackermannii ; the tall single stems 

 with E. truncatum, and some from the 

 surface of the soil to the top, all of 

 ■^vhich is of course according to indi- 

 vidual fancy ; E. truncatum should al- 

 ways be engrafted high, without which, 

 from its drooping habit, the greater 

 part of the beauty of the bloom is lost. 

 The shoots to be about one and a half 

 or two inches long. I pare off the 

 outer skin or bark for about half an 

 inch at the base of the graft, and cut 

 what is intended to be inserted into the 

 stock in the shape of a wedge ; I then 

 make an incision in the angles or top 

 of the stock with a pointed stick, made 

 the same shape as the scion. 



" When the grafts are first put in, to 

 prevent their slipping out, I pass 

 through each a small wooden peg, or 

 the spine of a thorn j I then cover each 

 with a small piece of moss, and place 

 them in a shady, damp house, and 

 syringe them over the tops occasionally 

 in the evening ; they will all adhere to 

 the stocks in ten days or a fortnight, 

 and make good plants by winter. By 

 engrafting the showing kinds of cacti 

 on the stocks that I recommend above, 

 noble specimens can be grown in a few 

 years, from one to ten feet high if re- 

 quired, and the size and colour of the 

 blooms are much superior to what they 

 ever produce when grown on their own 

 roots. E. truncatum, by the above 

 treatment, becomes quite a hardy green- 

 house plant, and will bloom three i 

 months later than it does when grown | 



in the stove on its own roots in the 

 usual way." — Gard. Chron. 



Varieties and Species. — The follow- 

 ing are cultivated around Philadelphia, 

 and are among the more desirable. A 

 superb collection, perhaps the most so 

 in the Union, is in the possession of 

 Caleb Cope, President of the Pennsyl- 

 i vania Horticultural Society : 

 Cereus grandiflorus. 



monstrosus. 



cylindricus. 



^^Mallisouia. 



Smithii. 



llagelliformis. 



horrida. 



gladiata. 



gemniatus. 



speciosissimus. 



heptagonus. 



Epiphyllum speciosa. 



splendens. 



Jenkinsonia. 



truncatus. 



Russellianus. 



atropurpurea su- 



perba. 



vandesia. 



Mammillaria prolifera. 



Wildeana. 



rhodantha. 



stellata. 



radiata. 



rubra. 



Echinocactus Eyreisii. 



decora. 



■ ottonis. 

 ' dis-color. 



simplex. 



pulchella. 



Opuntia, microdysa. 

 — '■ , leuacantha. 



Cuttings and Culture. — " The best 

 time for propagating by cuttings is when 

 the plants are growing freely; make 

 them of whatever size can be spared 

 from the plants ; and those that are of 

 young and unripe shoots, lay on a dry 

 shelf in the green-house for a fortnight 

 to dry up the sap, which prevents them 

 from rotting, and causes them to emit 

 roots much sooner. Plant them singly 

 in small pots, and place them in a 

 moderate hot-bed frame ; when they 

 have filled the pots with roots, re-pot 

 and place in an intermediate, or pelar- 

 gonium-house, to remain for the sum- 

 mer, and receive a good supply of 

 water. 



" In the autumn allow thera to cct 



