2l8 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



Cactuses:— To Graft and Otherwise 

 Propagate Them. 

 Among plants that succeed well under 

 the conditions found in tlie average home, 

 none are more worthy of attention and more 

 satisfactory than the Cactuses. This 

 family is so extensive and varied 

 that those who have heretofore con- 

 tented themselves with the culture 

 of but a few ordinary species, can 

 hardly form an idea of the field open 

 in this line to the enthusiast who 

 would make the most of his oppor- 

 tunaties. It has remained for A. 

 Blanc & Co., of Philadelphia, to 

 afford great assistance to cultivators 

 in this respect, by gathering up an 

 immense collection of fine Cactuses 

 and selling them at popular prices. 

 This firm has done more. It has 

 published a handsome catalogue 

 and work entitled "Hints on Cacti," 

 Fig. 1. which is exclusively devoted to des- 

 criptions, illustrations and cultural 

 directions concerning this interesting family 

 and which will be of great value in yet 

 further popularizing the culture of these 

 unique plants. 



No one branch of the art of Cactus culture 

 is more interesting than that of propagation 

 and grafting the various species. On this 

 account we have seen fit to present the fol- 

 lowing matter with illustrations bearing 

 upon this point, and for which we are in part 

 indebted to the firm above referred to and 

 to their catalogue. 



The principal ob.i'ect of grafting in this 

 family is to place delicate species upon stocks 

 of a stronger character, so that there is less 

 danger of the former suffering from super- 

 fluous moisture in the soil, as with some 

 Mamillarias, or to elevate pendulous or 

 drooping plants upon a stem, so that they 

 can be seen to better advantage, as in the 

 case of the Epiphyllums. Some of the slen- 

 der sorts, such as the Tuberous Cactus 

 (Ccrcus tubcrosus) and the Whip Cord or 

 Rat-tail Cactus {C. fldr/Miformis), seem to 

 be benefited by being grafted on stronger 

 stocks both in their growth and floriferous- 

 ness, but the latter character is usually not 

 much afl'ected. 



The operation is generally performed in 

 early summer when growth is proceeding, 

 and the methods employed are extremely 

 simple. The stock selected is usually a 

 Cereus, .such as C. toctwosM-s, C. Macrorjonus, 

 or C. Pcruvlanus, or still better, the stately 

 erect growing Torch Cactus, (V. Coluhrinun) 



Fig. i. EiHjthyllum {jrafled on Cereus Odubriniis. 



and the Night Blooming Cereus) C. (jrantli- 

 Jliifd), or the I'cnukki acidciitu; but this is 

 principally reserved for the Kpiphyllums. 

 When the scion and stock are slender, and 

 it nearly equal in size, they may be grafted 

 by cutting the former at the base into a 

 wedge shape,or better yet splitting it (Fig. 1 ) 

 with a corresponding notch in the latter, 

 lying them carefully aromid in this case. 



If one of the small globular Mamillarias, 

 Echinocactus, Echinocereus, or Echinopsis 

 is to be the scion, the base should be cut 

 smoothly across, and if the stock is a suffic- 

 iently broad stem this can be similarly 

 smoothed and the scion placed level upon 

 it, being secured in its place by a string 

 passed over the plant and under the pot, so 

 as to keep the cut surface in close contact. 

 No binding is required round the junction 

 of the stock and scion, ami if the plants are 

 placed in a rather shady position for a few 

 days and kept dry, a imion soon occurs. 



Nearly all the species in the different 

 genera of the Cactus order unite readily 

 with each other, but it is not well to select 

 a plant for a stock which differs greatly in 

 quickness of growth from the scion or n/cc- 

 'vcrxii, for the success of the union is very 

 uncertain in such cases. 



The Rat-tail Cactus (C. flrigclUformiK) 

 and the Crab Cactuses (Epipliylhuns) look 

 very beautiful when grafted on stems of C. 

 Colubrinus about two feet high, as shown 

 in Figures 2 and 3. Any one can take a young 

 cutting of either of these, and by grafting 

 them produce in a couple of years specimens 

 as fine as those shown here. Echinocereus 

 Pectinatus and CiJespitosus are very easily 

 grafted on stems of Cereus grandiflora, Nyc- 

 ticalus or Macdonaldi; the sap of all of these 

 being very gummy, unites readily. 



A Night Blooming Cereus with several 

 branches may have different Cacti grafted 

 on each one, and form a very curious ob.iect. 

 Grafted plants will grow twice or three 

 times as fast as those on their own roots, 

 and therefore soon make valuable specimens. 

 Figiire 4 shows a Night Blooming Cereus 

 stock grafted with the charming blooms of 

 Echinocereus Pectinatus and forming a 

 handsome and miique object. 



Propagation fkom Seed. There is a 

 great deal of pleasure derived in growing 

 Cactuses from seed, even if they are of slow 

 growth. One becomes attached to a plant 

 raised by one's own hands, much more so 

 than if bought. 



The vSeed may be sowed in fiat pans or 

 ttower-pot saucers filled with coarse sand, 

 which should be kept at all times moder- 

 ately moist and covered with a piece of glass 

 or a hand-glass. The best way yet is to 

 place the pan or saucer in which the seeds 

 are planted into one of larger size, which 

 can be kept full of water and will keep the 

 sand in the smaller saucer to the required 

 moisture. After the young plants are 

 sutHciently large, they may be potted in 

 quite small pots. 



Hybridizing. Nearly all Cactaceous 

 plants produce abundance of pollen, and are 

 readily crossed, especially Cerei, Phyllocacti, 

 and Epiphyllums, to which the ertorts of hy- 

 bridizers have been principally confined. 

 By judicious crossing some hantlsome forms 

 have been raised, and there is undoubtedly 

 plenty of room for further experiments in 

 this direction. For instance, the Mamillar- 

 ias vary consiilerably from seed, yet very 

 little has been done in this genus on any 

 systematic plan. In the majority of .species 

 the pollen and stigmas are mature at the 

 same time, and therefore if self-fertilization 

 is not desired the stamens ot the fiower se- 

 lected for the seed-parent must be removed 

 before the anthers burst; and if there are 

 other flowers open at the same lime a small 

 piece of gauze or muslin may be tieil over it 

 both before and after the pollen is applied. 

 The .species of Cereus hyljrulize readily, an<l 

 it is only necessary to observe closely the 

 time when the flowers open, as some last 

 but a few hours, often opening at night. 



Montbretias. 



MRS. M. D. WKLCOMK, YAUMCUTII, MAINE- 



Five years ago I received my first one or 

 two bulbs (if Moulbretia crocosmiieHoI'a, a 



hybrid by crossing M. Pottsl with M. aurea. 

 It was then a novelty priced at $1.00. My 

 plant thrived wonderfully, throwing up 

 several .spikes with lateral stems on which 

 were borne from forty to fifty orange-col- 

 ored, lily-shaped flowers. In the fall I took 

 up the ro<jts and put them in the cellar. The 

 long, slender foliage died. In the spring there 



Fig'.i. Ji'Iiiji Cord or Rat- 

 tail Cactus, grafted on 

 Cereus Colubrinus. 



Fig. 4. Echinocereus 

 Pectinatus grafted on 

 C. grandijlorus. 



were fifty plants from the one or two re- 

 ceived, so rapidly had they multiplied. They 

 have gone on multiplying at the same ratio, 

 so that they have been divided and sub- 

 divided into large clumps, while hundreds 

 have been given away. They are of the 

 easiest cultivation, and bloom all summer 

 and early autumu. A bulb now can be pur- 

 chased for a dime. 



Of Montbretias there are several varieties, 

 and last year three novelties were intro- 

 duced. Bouquet Parfait,large,silvery yellow 

 flowers, upper sepals bright vermilion. 

 Etoile de Feu, exterior of tube red, interior 

 vermilion with yellow center tinted with 

 scarlet. Gerbe, dwarf, fine golden yellow. 

 Pyramidalis, an older variety but quite 

 rare, is apricot shaded with salmon. We 

 can heartily commend Montbretias for bed- 

 ding, out purposes. 



Wild and Other Flowers of Northern 

 Michigan. 



MU.S. FRANCES EELDEN, OGEMAW COUNTY, UlCH. 



Perhaps something about the many beau- 

 tiful wild flowers. Ferns and Mosses, grow- 

 ing about here would be of interest in these 

 columns, and first let me say that it is very 

 cold here in the winter, sometimes 30 below 

 zero, and snow covers the ground four of 

 the twelve months of the year: a great pro- 

 tection to plants. 



The first flowers of spring are the little 

 Anemones, Violets, blue, yellow and creamy 

 white. Wake Robins, I^TriUimn ijrunOi- 

 Ji(irlum), white and pink. Dog's-tooth 

 Violets, and the sweetest of all wild flowers, 

 the Trailing Arbutus, with its clusters of 

 waxy, star-like flowers, pink at first but 

 changing to white, and so fragrant that a 

 snuill spray of flowers will perfume a whole 

 room. This is so wild a little beauty, in- 

 deed, that it refuses to be tamed, so we must 

 be content to hunt for it in its home in the 

 woods among the Ferns and Mosses. Next 

 comes Jack-in-the-Pulpii, Solomon's Seal, 

 I'atridge Berry, a wild species of the Calla, 

 Lady Slippers, and many others. I am glad 

 to see that roots of Solomon's Seal, Jack-in- 

 the-Pulpit, l)og.s-tootli Violet, and other 

 early spring fiowers are not tor sale, and 

 why not y They are prettier than some of 



