FLOWERING PLANTS 



cacti are desert plants they should be given a 

 sunny window and watered carefully and spar- 

 ingly. During the growing season water mod- 

 erately, using care not to over-water, as an ex- 

 cess of moisture will cause them to rot. 



The soil best suited for the cacti is a light 

 porous loam prepared by mixing two parts of 

 fibrous loam with one part sand. In planting, 

 fill the pot about one-fourth full of broken brick, 

 charcoal or gravel to give good drainage. Use 

 pots of ample size but do not make the error of 

 using pots that are too large. Do not shift of- 

 tener than is absolutely necessary as cacti are bet- 

 ter kept in the same pot for several years. 



Most of the cacti are provided with numerous 

 spines, but there are several interesting kinds 

 which are without the spines. Among these lat- 

 ter is a flat-stemmed form, Phyllocactus, whose 

 large white flowers open at night. Another 

 spineless form is the Epiphyllum, or crab cac- 

 tus, which produces a wealth of red flowers. 

 Among the prickly cacti are many odd forms 

 whicn a^e chiefly grown as curiosities. 



