Some account of the Echinocactus Eyriesii. 331 



the inclement season of the year; ihey therefore grow mucli bet- 

 ter than when placed singly. A western aspect is the most eli- 

 gible situation, if it can be obtained. 



Yours, &c. 



J. W. RUSSKLL. 



Mount Auburn^ Cambridge^ August 1, 1837. 



Art. III. Some Account of the Echinocactus EyriesW^ vrith a 

 few observations upon the Management of the Cactdceoi in gen- 

 eral. By the Conductor. 



This exquisitely beautiful plant having flowered in two or 

 three collections around Boston and New York, the present sea- 

 son, we have thought that some account of it might prove inter- 

 esting to our readers. We have not ourselves, for a long time, 

 seen a flower which has so highly pleased us as one which ap- 

 peared upon a plant in our collection the past month. It has 

 been rather lately introduced, and is not yet generally found in 

 collections of plants. 



The splendor and magnificence of many of the species, and 

 particularly the new varieties of this tribe, is so well known, that 

 it is unnecessary to remark upon them here; the Cereus speci- 

 osissimus, Epiphyllum speciosum and truncatum, have been in- 

 habitants of our green and hot-houses for a long period, and the 

 former of them still ranks among the best which have ever been 

 cultivated. Within a few years the E. Ackerraani, Vandesia, 

 Jenkinsoni, and a number of others, have been introduced or 

 raised from seed by English amateurs, and the catalogue of spe- 

 cies and varieties is now swelled to a considerable size. 



The genus Cactus formerly included many plants which are 

 now placed in other genera, and several of which are included in 

 Echinocactus, a genus lately established by M. Otto and pre- 

 served by De Candolle. Some confusion existed in regard to 

 the proper place of several species, but they have finally had 

 their respective stations in the diflerent genera assigned them. 



From an elaborate and able paper, entitled " Observations sur 

 la famille des Cactuses," in the Annates de Fromont^ for July, 

 1830, by M. Turpin, we have gathered some account of the 

 Echinocactus Eyriesii; and as we believe it will be interesting, 



