THE MAGAZINE 



HORTICULTURE. 



NOVEMBER, 1838. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. A Catalogue of Cactuses, Opuntias, Cereuses, Echino- 

 cactuses, »^-c., in the amateur collection of J\fr. S. Siceetser, 

 Camhridgeport; with some Observations on their cultivation. 

 Communicated by Mr. Sweetser. 



The Cactaceae are a tribe of plants which are not yet duly ap- 

 preciated. Few, very few, of the numerous species have yet 

 flowered in this country, and many of the best are only known to 

 our amateurs and gardeners through European works on garden- 

 ing, while there are probably numerous beautiful species in South 

 America still undiscovered. Within a short time, however, 

 many cultivators have added the more beautiful species to their 

 collections, and the taste for the plants is constantly increasing. 

 It is but a short period since the gorgeous Cereus speciosissi- 

 mus first opened its magnificent blossoms in the vicinity of Bos- 

 ton; and the superb grandifiurus, though very generally found in 

 collections, has flowered so rarely that it has not yet ceased to 

 be an object of great interest when about to expand its splen- 

 did flowers. The old Cactus speciosus, now classed among 

 the epiphyllums, is the most common and v^ell known of all; 

 easy of culture either in the green-house or parlor, it has found 

 its way into the latter place, where its large, delicate, rosy flow- 

 ers, profusely decking its uninteresting stems, have been the admi- 

 ration of every lover of beautiful plants. Cereus flagelliformis 

 and Epiphyllum truncatum are common, and tolerably well 

 known; but, beyond these, few of the more elegant kinds are 



VOL. IV. — NO. XI. 51 



