178 THE FLOWER GARDEN COMPANION. 



full; the plants are then to be taken gently from the pots 

 with a sharp pointed stick, then to be placed on the sur- 

 face, the roots spread in a regular manner, and earth closed 

 over them sufficient to cover them to a proper depth. Af- 

 ter potting off, two or three shiftings are required in this 

 tribe of plants, as in most others, when the pots are full of 

 roots. 



Mode of Culture. The culture of the Cactus has been 

 very much improved within a few years; indeed, the system 

 has been entirely reversed from the former method of grow- 

 ing it in a dry, harsh, sandy soil or compost, to that of a 

 light, rich soil, that shall be porous enough, with drainage to 

 let off the superfluous water before it saturates and rots the 

 roots, or the stem just above the surface of the soil ; hence, 

 by the improved mode, this tribe of plants is grown and 

 flowered in as good a manner and as large plants in one year 

 as was formerly done in three or four. The present mode, 

 then, consists in keeping the plants in a healthy growing state 

 from the time they are first rooted as a cutting, until they are 

 large enough for flowering plants ; when a different process 

 is taken, to check the flow of sap and growth of the plant, 

 in order to set the buds thickly on the leaves. 



The watering may be done with the Cactus as with other 

 plants, when in a growing state, namely : whenever the 

 earth is dry in the pots, it may be moderately refreshed with 

 water, but care must be taken to do so in such a degree that 

 the earth shall not be saturated so as to be always moist, 

 and thus rot off the plant, as before hinted. In every other 

 department of culture, the Cactus requires good treatment 

 until it is grown to a sufficient size for flowering, when an 

 entirely different treatment may be given it. In the fall the 

 plants intended for flowering may be placed on dry shelves 

 in the green-house, where they are to remain, with a small 

 portion of water, in order to set the flower buds in a firm 

 manner. The plants are to remain in this state until New 

 Year's, when they are again to be taken into a warmer place, 



