THE PlRLOR GARDENER, 35 



plexion of ladies towards whom mother Nature 

 was stingy when she painted their cheeks. I do 

 not mean, however, my dear young ladies, to in- 

 timate that this was, by any means, the case with 

 either of you. 



Melocacti and Echinocacti. 



To the same family belong also the melocacti 

 and echinocacti. Their rounded forms composed 

 of prominent ridges, their pretty crown of little 

 satiny flowers, of a fine golden yellow, resem- 

 ble those of no other family. In the mountains 

 of the interior of Brazil, and in those of the 

 centre of the Island of Jamaica, these same 

 plants, plants of the same species, that you 

 here see reduced to such exceedingly small pro- 

 portions, grow upon the slopes of the most arid 

 rocks, and become very large. Knowing this, 

 you will understand that their bunches of thorns, 

 inoffensive in the dwarfed plants because of their 

 minute size, constitute defensive weapons where- 

 by they are preserved from the teeth of animals. 

 Nevertheless, these arms prove useless to them 

 against the wily attacks of the numerous herds 



