C A C 



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is fleshy, of a purple or red colour. It flowers 

 herein July and August; but, unless the season 

 is very warm, the fruit does not ripen m this 

 climate. It is a native of America. 



The fifteenth has the branches growing more 

 upright than in the above sort, and armed with 

 long bristly spines, coming out in clusters on 

 both the compressed sides, spreading open like 

 the rays of a star. The flowers come out from 

 the upper edges of the leaves, as in the former ; 

 but are larger, and of a brighter yellow colour. 

 The fruit is also larger, and of a deeper purple 

 colour ; the outer skin is likewise armed with 

 longer spines. It is a native of South America. 



The sixteenth species has stronger branches 

 than the above, and armed with larger thorns, 

 which are awl-shaped, whitish, and in clusters. 

 The flowers are large, of a bright yellow colour ; 

 and the fruit shaped like that of the above, and of 

 a purple colour. It is a native of South America. 



There are varieties which are taller, • the 

 branches larger, thicker, and of a deeper green, 

 and armed with strong black spines, coming out 

 in clusters which are far asunder, and which are 

 the largest of all the sorts known. The joints 

 more than a foot long, and eight inches broad j 

 very thick, of a deep green colour, and armed 

 with a few short spines. 



The seventeenth species has oblong, smooth, 

 fleshy, jointed, upright branches, rising to the 

 height of eight or ten feet, having scarcely any 

 spines on them, and those few so soft as not to 

 be troublesome when handled. The flowers are 

 small, and of a purple colour, which do not 

 spread open, but appear late in autumn, and the 

 fruit drops off in winter without coming to per- 

 fection. It is supposed to be the sort upon 

 which the cochineal insect feeds. 



The eighteenth species has thicker, more swell- 

 ing joints than the other sorts, closely armed 

 with slender white spines. The branche- spread 

 out on every side, and where they have no sup- 

 port fall to the ground, very often -separating at 

 the joints, and as they lie putting out roots, and 

 forming new plants. This sort rarely produces 

 flowers in this climate. It is called Pi/i-pi/loir, 

 from the appearance which the branches have to 

 a pincushion stuck full of pins. It is said to 

 be a native of Curassao. 



In the nineteenth the branches have the joints 

 much longer, narrower, and more compressed 

 than in any of the others. The spines are very 

 long, slender, and of a yellowish brown colour, 

 coming out in clusters all over the surface of the 

 branches, crossing each other, so as to render 

 the plant dangerous to handle ; as, upon being 

 touched, the spines quit the branches, adhere to 

 the hand, and penetrate the skin; the trunk 



below the branches beinsr. so absolutely co- 

 vered with spines as to be invisible, and seems 

 nothing but a congeries of them. Hence it has 

 been whimsically named Robinson Crusoe's 

 Coat. Its growth is more upright and lofty than 

 in the other Opuntias. The branches are remark- 

 ably neat and Hatted, seldom subdividing much, 

 but protending horizontally in a double row in 

 the same plane. The spines are very long and 

 slender, in parcels, and have a woolly tuft at 

 their base, which is most evident in the more 

 tender joints. 



The twentieth species has very thin branches, 

 which are indented regularly on their edges, like 

 Spleenwort ; they are of a light green, shaped 

 like a broad-sword, and without spines. The 

 flowers come out from the side, and at the end 

 of the branches, and are of a pale yellow colour. 

 The fruit rarely ripens in this climate. It grows 

 naturally in the Brazils. 



The twenty-first has a round stem, ash-co- 

 loured, flexile, whence issue several leaves,, 

 which at first are very hairy, and afterwards 

 grow to a foot in length, and an inch broad in 

 the middle, decreasing to both extremes ; they 

 are of a pale green colour, and have round in- 

 dentures on' their edges ; out of these proceed 

 the flowers. The fruit is small and compressed. 

 It is a native of Jamaica. 



The twenty-second species is a sessile plant, 

 consisting of globular joints growing out of each 

 other, armed with very long, sharp, subulate 

 spines, commonly solitary, but sometimescoming 

 out two together. The flowers are produced from 

 the upper joint, they are sessile, the tube is long 

 and sealv, the petals spreading and sinuous, the 

 style very long and prominent, and the stigma 

 very broad and many-parted. This is a very 

 singular plant, and the least known of any. It 

 is a native of South America. 



The last species has many slender branches, 

 which trail on whatever plants grow near them. 

 These, as well as the stem of the plant, are 

 beset with long whitish spines, which are pro- 

 duced in tufts. The leaves are roundish, very 

 thick and succulent; and the fruit is about the 

 size of a walnut, having tufts of small leaves 

 on it, and within a whitish mucilaginous pulp. 

 It grows in some parts of the Spanish West 

 Indies. 



Culture in the Melon-Thistle kind. — The pro- 

 pagation in these plants is effected either by 

 sowing the seeds in pots of light sandy earth, 

 plunging them in the bark-bed; when, after they 

 have advanced a little in growth, they should 

 be pricked out into separate very small pots, re- 

 plunging them in the bark-bed, where they 

 make great progress, though it is some years. 



