38: 



Tui. Canadian Ht)KjicuLTURisT. 



NlCiri" P.LOOMINC, CIlRias. 



:3. 



N interesting account of a social of this 

 ^ kind appears in the Coufttty Gentleviait. 

 jii which, however, the name ot the plant is 

 probably a misnomer. Cereus grandi-f^orus is 

 not so commonly grown as a house plant, 

 as a species of night- blooming IMiyilo- 

 cactus, which is also commonly known as 

 Night Blooming Cereus. The Phyllocacti 

 are easy culture and very profuse in 

 flowers, which are of exquisite beauty. 

 The best soil for them is a light sandy 

 loam, but to which is added one-third of 

 mold, cow manure and sand, all well mixed. It is important to 

 have the pots well drained ; stagnation of water about the roots is 

 sure to cause failure. They are not fastidious about temperature, 

 and hence will succeed well in the window under ordinary 

 conditions. They are easily propagated from fleshy cuttings in- 

 serted in sandy soil, and kept dry for about a week. Altogether 

 the Ph\llocacli are among the most satisfactory of house plants. 

 We here give our readers the clipping referred to : 

 ^^-^^ About eight o'clock the guests drop|)ed in by ones aiul 



.•ic. twos and ranged themsehes in a semi-circle of chairs w\) and 

 lfi(^r^ -■'•'''■"' down the parlor, at the end of which stood two cereus 



If^ '^^»^mSAM'^:\ plants against a black draped background. At the left 

 g^J' a large bracket lamj), artistically shaded, supplied them 

 with both heat and light. The i)lani 

 stems were covered with long, narrow 

 pendant leaves, somewhat resembling in 

 shape tobacco leaves when hrst hung up 

 to dry. From very near the extremities 

 of some of the leaves ])endulous stems 

 depended, and upon these, when the 

 first guest arrivi'd, were sharp, conical- 

 pointed buds which were partiall) un- 

 folded before the last couple ilropped 

 in. The old saying that a plant grows 

 so last thai one <an see it grow, was here actually verified. The guests 

 watched, with curious eyes, the large, while petals as they gradually unfolded, 

 revealing a pendulous star-shajicd <entre, so intricate, so delicate and nebulous 

 that art must have stood appalled before it. About llu' middle ol ihc evening 



