CACTUS. 



Phyllocactua crenatus. 



PHYLLOCACTUS is a" leafy" 

 cactus, as distinguished from 

 a melocactus, which resembles 

 a melon , or an echinoeactus, 

 which may be likened , to a 

 hedgehog. The phyllocactus 

 section of " Indian figs " in- 

 cludes many that were for- 

 merly classed with cereus, 

 the torch thistle, and with 

 epiphyllum, the " leaf-flower- 

 ing" section. For all or- 

 dinary purposes these leaf- 

 flowering cactuses are the 

 most iiseful of any, being of 

 rapid growth, flowering freely 

 and gaily, and requiring 

 no particular care either 

 to multiply them or to keep them through the winter. 

 The cactuses are now freely scattered throughout the 

 world, and are familiar weeds in many countries that 

 afford them a dry bed in winter and a glowing sun in 

 summer, with sufficient rain at times to enable them to 

 make their annual growth for extension and renewal. 



