A Sharp f'a))iily. — The Cactuses. 2 J 



A SHARP FAMILY— THE CACTUSES.— HI. 



bishop's hood cactus. 



AstrophytLim Myriostigma, 

 the Bishop's Hood Cactus, is 

 of very peculiar aspect. It is, 

 seldom seen in collections, but 

 when present is one of the 

 most conspicuous . At a glance 

 it scarcely appears to be a liv- 

 ing plant, so regular, rigid and 

 unplant-like is its form, and 

 one might almost imagine that 

 it had been carved from a piece 

 of stone. The genus is closely 

 related to Echinocactus, but 

 ^ differs from other cactuses in 

 the absence of spines or tuber- 

 cles, being entirely bare except for some curious star-like scales 

 or hairs. It is seldom more than 6 or 8 inches high, by 3 to 5 

 inches in diameter, and has 5 or 6 broadly triangular ridges one 

 or one and one-half inches deep, with an even surface, the edge 

 devoid of spines. Upon the surface are a number of small gray 

 or whitish flattened scales or hairs, which are thickly placed on 

 the young growth, but fall off as the plant advances in age, and 

 the lower part of the stem is sometimes quite bare. The flowers 

 are produced near the summit of the stem, generally several to- 

 gether, which open early in the clay and close in the afternoon, 

 expanding on each succeeding day for nearly a week. Accord- 

 ing to Blanc it will bloom from June to September in cultivation. 



DISCOCACTUS, PFEIFFER. 



This genus contains two or three species of dwarf, semi-globose 

 plants, resembling Echinocactus somewhat. D. Biformis is the 

 only species known to me. 



THE MELON CACTUS. 



We select the following from ' Hints on Cacti,' (copyrighted 

 1886, by A. Blanc & Co.): 



About thirty species of plants found in the West Indies and 

 tropical America are arranged under the genus Melocactus, and 

 resemble each other closely in their leadmg characters. These 

 are a globose unbranched fleshy stem, i to 2 or 3 feet in diame- 

 ter, regularly ribbed from base to summit, the ridges bearing a 

 varying number of clusters of spines and a cylindrical portion, 

 termed ' the cap,' produced from the apex of the stem, formed of 

 a wooly substance, and ck)sely set softer spines than those on 

 the main stem. Upon this the small flowers are borne, tabular 

 in form, and red or rose- colored. All the species are natives of 



