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CULTIVATION AND ANALTSIS OF PLANTS. 





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IRST biought to notice about a century ago, being introduced from 

 Mexico, it was named in honor of Dr. Bouvard, director of the Jardiu 

 dcs Plaiitcs, at Paris; and is one of the most attractive of the Madders, 

 -^ freely blooming through the winter. The flowers appear in trusess on 

 , j-_, J""^? each new shoot, and are of various colors, from a bright carmine through 

 ^~" jT all the shades of red to almost a pure white. They are waxy in texture 

 ^^ and of a compact growth, forming a very striking bunch of flowers not 

 unlike the cluster of the Lilac; and for purposes of floral decoration they are 

 general favorites. A rich loam, with a slight admixture of sand, forms the 

 best soil for their cultivation ; and the}- are best grown outdoors in summer, where 

 they will bloom through- August and September. They can be made shapelj' 

 shrubs by careful pruning of all straggling shoots. They are very desirable 

 indoor plants for winter blooming, and should not be allowed to catch the slightest nip of 

 the early frost, but be removed in season, as they cannot thrive in an atmosphere that 

 falls under fifty degrees. Even when not vitally injured, they are slow to recover from 

 the effects of cold; and, though more easily hurt by too much than too little water, the 

 soil must not be permitted to become "dust-dry." The Bouvardias are seldom propagated 

 from regular shoots or cuttings, but mainly from pieces of the roots laid horizontally in 

 sand, and covered to the depth of about an inch. These require a uniform heat of from 

 seventy to seventy-five degrees in the bed or box where they are set; and sometimes will 

 not show growth for four or five weeks, but must not on that account be disturbed. 



7^'^/7^\l "^REAT arid plains and rocky, infertile wastes, where other vegeta- 



^^ I ll.^j^'^ J t ition is sparse and water scarce, are the 



I ) ( ■■ s peculiar plants. The curious and varied i 



^— AV\^ ^_^ imazes us at first, and finally fascinates us, i 



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the native homes of these 

 manner of their growth 

 making the charm com- 

 j »J^ plete when we behold the superb blossoms of some of the species. 

 The\ are divided into several classes, according to their manner of 

 uiowth, man\ of them being foreign plants. Of the Cereus there are sev- 

 eial kmds, among which the Cereus flagelliformis, or Whip Cactus, and the 

 Leieus giandifloius, or Night-blooming Cactus, are the best representatives. 

 The fiist glows in long, branching stems, having ten angles, and needs support 

 to keep it upiight. The flowers are of a ruddy pink, lasting for several days. 

 The latter has stems of only five angles, and at night produces its flowers, which 

 ; before the morning. They are very large, varying from seven to twelve inches in 

 diameter, the petals being white, and the calyx yellow within and brown without. The 

 genus Opuntia, of which the Prickly Pear is a specimen, are hardy plants, with yellow 

 flowers, indigenous on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan. The genus Echinocactus 



