172 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



ually becoming cylindrical and having as many as thirty ribs, 

 two inches high and three inches apart. The rib crests are 

 obtuse and are constricted between the areolas. There are 

 from six to eight radial spines, an inch or two long, which 

 are stout and straight with cross ridges, and spreading. 

 They are gray, or dull red and pink, with the tips a translucent 

 yellow. The central spines are much stronger than the ra- 

 dials, as long as three inches, extending outward and not 

 hooked; but the tips are curved. The flowers, which are 

 bell-shaped, are about three inches long and have forty petals 

 and twenty sepals. The petals have acute tips and are ob- 

 lanceolate. The colors vary from yellow to crimson and 

 red shadings with the margins of a lighter red. The fruit 

 Is elliptical, about two inches long and a dull yellow. 



How to grow 



Transplant in sandy gravelly or rocky soil at any season, 

 with enough water to keep the soil moist during the growing 

 season. Plants grow easily from seed In flats in sandy loam 

 with part shade, watered occasionally to keep the soil 

 slightly moist. The plants grow inside and outdoors and 

 are not injured by temperatures twenty-five degrees below 

 freezing; in colder weather they should be protected. 



Turk's Head (Echinocactus horizonthalonius) 



(The specific name horizonthalonius is of unknown origin 

 but no doubt refers to the position of the spines) 



How to identify and hozv it grows 



The Turk's Head has as many as eight radial spines, three 

 to five of which grow directly upward and two to four ex- 

 tend laterally. Many of them grow to one and one-half 

 Inches long. The central spines are much stouter and longer, 

 extending outward, also, and downward, about two inches 

 In length. All the thorns are quite stout, are strongly cross- 



