226 GENERAL REVIEW. 



grows freely, and it is long-lived. It seems made to carry a 

 burden. It will support almost any weight of Epiphyllum at 

 any desired height with evident ease and conscious dignity. 

 And then it grows with the freedom of a weed and the vigour 

 of a giant ; and who ever heard of its dying ? It can scarcely 

 be destroyed, unless by frost ; and it will endure a temperature 

 as low as 40 Fahr. with impunity, which, is 5 lower than the 

 Epiphyllum likes to be' subjected to. The strength of this 

 noble Cereus enables it to scorn the help of artificial props. 

 Worked on the top of this Cereus, the Epiphyllums form 

 beautiful standard or umbrella plants; inserted all the way 

 up the stems, they can be made into nice, narrow pyramids. 

 There is one objection to this stock more theoretical, however, 

 than practical. Its natural period of blooming is four or six 

 months later than that of the Epiphyllum. Still it never seems 

 unwilling to be forced into growth at the demand of the scion, 

 nor, as far as I have observed, has it ever refused to supply food 

 to meet the wants of its adopted children. 



" Still, for my large plants I prefer a different stock, which 

 lacks all the robustness and the strength of this grand Cereus. 

 This is the Pereskia or Peirescia aculeata. It roots and grows 

 freely, and unless for stocks, is of no use whatever. The 

 Epiphyllum takes readily upon it, although not so freely as on 

 the Cereus. The Pereskia has but little strength in itself; its 

 merit lies in its pliability. I have also seen it used for a dwarf 

 standard ; but the plants require other support, and it is not 

 equal to the Cereus for such purposes." 



THE CHIMONANTHUS FAMILY (Calycanthacece). 



A small group of hardy deciduous shrubs, natives of 

 North America and Japan, and represented in gardens by 

 Chimonanthus fragrans, and its varieties "grandiflora" and 

 "praecox," and by one or two species of Calycanthus. The 

 flowers of all the species are peculiarly fragrant, and the bark 

 of Calycanthus floridus is used as a substitute for cinnamon 

 in North America. Cuttings of these plants do not strike root 

 freely, and it is best to trust to layers or better still, to seeds 

 when they are obtainable. It would be exceedingly interesting 

 to know -if Chimonanthus will succeed grafted on Calycanthus, 

 or vice versa; or whether these plant's could not be more readily 

 multiplied by herbaceous cuttings made in heat or by grafting 

 on the roots, a method which is easily tested and very suc- 

 cessful in the case of Ipomceas, Aralias, Conifers, and many 



