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they require a kind of double treatment, according to 

 whether you want them to grow or to flower. If you 

 want small pieces to grow quickly, you must keep them 

 most of the year in heat and well watered. If, on the other 

 hand and this especially applies to the hardier kinds you 

 want them to flower, you must starve them well through 

 the winter. But I am sure that allowing them to shrivel 

 from want of water is wrong. To prevent this, once the 

 year is turned, I find occasional syringing better than 

 much watering at the roots. Over-watering in winter 

 generally means death, as they then rot at the crown. 

 Sun they must have all through the summer. They are 

 apt to be affected by a fungus blight ; this must be cleaned 

 off, of course. Like all the distinct plant families in 

 Nature, the more we know about Cactuses the more 

 interesting they are. I have a new sunny window which 

 I am looking forward to filling with Cactuses this summer. 

 I have there, now in a small pot, a red Phyllocactus (see 

 Mr. W. Watson's ' Cactus Culture'), which has upon it two 

 or three flowers in bloom and fifty-two buds. One of my 

 correspondents was exceedingly sceptical about the same 

 bloom of my night-flowering Cereus (see page 121 of my first 

 book) having lasted in a cool dark hall for two nights ; but 

 it certainly did. Last year I was away from home all the 

 precious summer months, so I do not know what happened 

 to the ' bright-blooming Cereus, grand and glorious.' My 

 correspondent adds that some years ago he got into a con- 

 troversy with experts in ' The Gardener's Chronicle ' about 

 these flowers, and one correspondent said that his Cereus 

 remained in bloom six weeks. That must have been a very 

 large plant with many blooms. Some of the most beautiful 

 Cereuses are so large they only seem to flower well if 

 planted in the open ground under glass. I think more than 

 ever that it is worth while to grow Cactuses for anyone 

 who spends the summer at home. I am obliged to add this, 



