(58 CACTUS CULTURE TOR AMATTURS. 



no less than thirteen heads. Large imported plants are difficult to 

 establish ; and even when established, they do not live long, owing 

 to the fact that, after the cap has commenced to form, no further 

 stem-growth is made. The plants grow slowly, an example 3 feet 

 across taking, according to Sir W. Hooker, from 200 to 300 years 

 to reach that size. Mr. F. T. Palmer, in " Culture des Cactees," 

 recommended the following treatment for M. communis : Take a 

 Cereus peruvianns of about the same diameter as that of the base 

 of the Melocactus, cut off the head of the former, but not so lov 

 as to come upon the hard, ligneous axis, and then pare off the hard 

 epidermis and ribs for about 1 inch. Then take off a slice from the 

 base of the Melocactus, also paring off about 1 inch of the epidermis 

 all round ; place the two together and bind on firmly with strong 

 worsted. In warm weather, a union should take place in about 

 two months, but it will be safest to allow the ligature to remain 

 till growth commences. The precaution of paring off the hard 

 skin and ribs is absolutely necessary, as the juicy centre contracts, 

 and the rind, or epidermis, does not. There would, therefore, be 

 a cavity formed sufficient to prevent cohesion, be the graft tied on 

 ever so tightly. 



Imported stems should be kept dry for about a fortnight, and, 

 if they show any signs of rottenness, the bad pwtions cut away ; 

 exposure to the air for a few days will generally cause these pared 

 places to dry and callus. 



Propagation. 



This is effected by means of seeds, which usually follow the 

 flowers on cultivated specimens. Multiplication is also possible 

 by means of offsets, formed about the base of the stem if the top 

 of a growing plant is cut out. The thirteen- headed plant men- 

 tioned above was the result of the removal of the top of a stem 

 which had developed these lateral growths, and thus formed a 

 family of red- capped stems. As the cap is the most remarkable 

 feature, the purchase of large imported stems, in preference to 

 young ones raised from seeds, is recommended ; for, as the cap does 

 not form till the stem attains a large size, there would be small 

 hope of seedlings reaching the flowering stage in a lifetime. 



M. communis. 



Stem up to 2 feet or even 3 feet in diameter, globose, 

 with from twelve to twenty ridges, and armed with numerous 

 clusters of strong, short spines, the clusters placed closely together. 

 On the summit of the stem is a cylindrical crown, varying in height 

 from 5 to 12 inches, and composed of a whitish, cotton-like sub- 

 stance, through which bristle-like red spines project. The flowers 

 are small, red, fleshy, and tubular, the calyx and corolla forming a 

 regular flower, as in a Hyacinth. The cylindrical cap may be kept 



