laTLLOCAOTnS. •, '67 



and the pots are filled with roots an annual top'^dreesing of soil and 

 manure will be suflioient without repotting them, and is even preferable, 

 as the plants appear to flower more profusely when retained for some 

 years in the same pots. It is, however, oooasionally necessary to turn the 

 plants out to see that the drainage is in proper condition. As regards 

 temperature, Phyllocactuses are by no means particular; they will succeed 

 in an unheated house or frame, in a greenhouse or in a window, and in 

 all these positions the majority will flower freely, but the best results are 

 obtained by having them in a warm greenhouse, what is termed an 

 intermediate house, during their growing period. After the growth has 

 been completed they can be placed in cooler and more airy quarters, or a 

 similar result can he obtained by keeping the frame olose(i while growth 

 is advancing and ventilating freelj^ afterwards. 



Propagation. — They are readily increased by means of cuttings, 

 which, if inserted in sandy soil in moderate heat and kept rather dry for 

 ■a, week or two, only slightly syringing them, will form roots, and can be 

 placed singly in 60-size pots. Seeds are produced freely, and these may 

 be sown in pans of light soil, placed in a dry part oi the stove or in a 

 warm house until they germinate, when a light position must be afforded 

 the plants until they are large enough to be potted singly. It is curious 

 that the young stems are usually cylindrical at first, often becoming 

 triangular before they assume the flattened form, and some, like P. mul- 

 tiflorus, continue more or less triangular, with occasional variations to 

 the typical character. 



SELECT SPECIES. 



P. ACKEKMANNI Sawo7t7i.—One of the most handsome and best known 

 "forms in cultivation, remarkable alike for the large size, rich colour, and 

 profusion of its flowers. It has been regarded by some writers as a hybrid, 

 ;and is mentioned as such by Herbert, but upon what evidence does not 

 appear. Lindley, on the other hand, gives a full account of the plant, and 

 iStates that it was brought from Mexico by Mr. George Ackermann, in whose 

 honour it was named by Haworth, the original stem having first flowered in 

 Mr. Tate's nursery in June, 1829. A somewhat peculiar circumstance is, 

 however, mentioned by the same authority — namely, that a seedling raised 

 by Mr. Smith, gardener to Lord Liverpool, Coombe 'Wood, was flowered at the 

 same time, and proved so similar in its characters that they could only be 

 distinguished by a close examination. Whatever it be there can be no 

 ■question respecting its beauty, and that is sufficient to recommend it to the 

 attention of the readers of these notes. The flowers are 6 to 8 inches in 

 diameter, with rich crimson shining petals, the outer ones lighter in colour. 

 The stems are flat and deeply crenated or notched, bearing the flowers on 



