THE CACTUS FAMILY. 223 



plants, represented in our gardens by E. truncatum, an orange- 

 scarlet-flowered species introduced from Brazil in 1818 (for a 

 figure of . truncatum as originally introduced, see * Bot. Mag.,' 

 t. 2562), and the more elegant-habited E. Russellianum (also 

 from Brazil), introduced in 1839. Seeds are freely produced 

 in small gooseberry-like fruits. The latter, however, are rarely 

 produced unless the flowers are artificially fertilised, which is 

 readily done, as the stigma is large and the pollen copious. 

 Sow the seeds as soon as ripe in a well-drained pan of light 

 sandy earth, having previously separated them from the pulpy 

 fruit by rubbing in a fine dry cloth or towel. Placed in a 

 genial bottom-heat of 60 to 70, they germinate in a few weeks, 

 and should then be placed on a sunny shelf in a dry airy atmo- 

 sphere, as they are extremely liable to damp off if left in the 

 moist propagating case. 



The late Mr Wilbraham Buckley of Tooting, sometime 

 manager to Messrs Rollison & Sons, gives the following con- 

 cise account of the improvements effected in this genus by 

 himself and others (see 'Florist,' 1868, i. 13, 14). Speaking 

 of E. Russellianum, he observes : " This latter, although re- 

 corded as a variety of E. truncatum, is certainly a distinct 

 species ; for while the varieties of E. truncatum usually flower 

 in November and December, the natural blooming period for 

 E. Russellianum is the month of May. 



"The late Mr Kemp of Mawbey House, Stockwell, tried 

 hard to obtain a hybrid between Epiphyllum truncatum and 

 Cereus speciosissimus, but could never succeed. He did, how- 

 ever, raise one good variety of E. truncatum named magnificum. 

 Mr Bruce, also, the talented gardener at Collier's Wood, Mer- 

 ton, tried in vain to produce a hybrid between the E. trunca- 

 tum . section and Phyllocactus speciosus and others, although 

 he obtained some beautiful hybrids in other sections. It may 

 therefore be concluded that E. truncatum will not hybridise 

 with the large-flowered species. More recently, some very 

 beautiful hybrids were raised at the Tooting Nursery between 

 E. Russellianum and E. truncatum, having the symmetrical 

 form of the first, and flowering two months later than the last. 

 The advantage gained by this cross was important, inasmuch 

 as it extended the blooming time quite through the winter, to 

 say nothing of the superiority of form which was secured. 



" These varieties of E. Russellianum were : E. R. rubrum* 

 flower double the size of E. Rtissellianum, and of a bright rosy 

 red; E. R. cupreum* not so large as the last, of a coppery 

 tinge, slightly suffused with purple ; E. R. superbum* in which 

 the purple of E. Russellianum and the reddish tinge .of E. 



