FLOWERS FOR SUBURBAN GARDENS 395 



The Cacti as native plants are certainly an adaptation to par- 

 ticular circumstances. They belong to dry countries like Cali- 

 fornia and Mexico, and accordingly they are given by Nature the 

 capacity to store up a good deal of water by means of their 

 thick, fleshy stems, and to hold it by reason of the compara- 

 tively small evaporating area they possess. An ordinary plant, 

 with a greater or smaller spread of leaves, gets rid of a great 

 deal of moisture by evaporation ; but the Cactus could not afford 

 to do that in its native habitat, and accordingly contents itself 

 with spines and hooks, some of which are so 

 strong and sharp as to be capable of inflicting 

 severe wounds on people who handle them care- 

 lessly. A curious proof of the moisture-holding 

 power of some Cacti lies in the fact that when 

 cuttings of Opuntias are taken they have to be 

 laid on a dry shelf for a few days to insure 

 root production. If they were put into damp 

 soil, and kept close and shaded like the cuttings 

 of ordinary plants, they would probably rot. 



What are the claims of Cacti on the attention 

 of amateurs ? Certainly considerable. While 

 some of them are admittedly more quaint 

 than beautiful, all are interesting, and some are as brilliant as 

 any flowers that we possess. Where can more glowing flowers 

 be found than those of the Phyllocactuses, for example? The 

 Cereuses, too, are showy, likewise the well-known Epiphyllum. 



The fact that Cacti are great drought-resisters is a point in 

 their favour in the case of amateurs who are away from home for 

 the greater part of their time. The plants do not require very 

 much water at any time. They do not call thirstily for drinks 

 two or three times a day. It generally suffices to give water twice 

 a week in summer, and once or twice a month in winter, when 

 frequent watering would probably lead to decay. 



EPIPHYLLUM GRAFTING 



A, stock, Cereus speciosissi- 

 mus ; B, graft inserted and 

 made secure by driving a 

 thorn of the stock through 

 as shown at C. 



