CACTI & 



another set of feeding roots can be produced, and it starves. For 

 watering, a vessel should be used that gives a fine, gentle spray, in 

 order to avoid the danger of washing the seeds from their position 

 or of injuring the delicate young seedlings. Watering should be 

 done at least once a day. The temperature of the propagating house 

 or frame should be kept as nearly uniform as possible and should 

 not vary much from 70° F. 



The proper time for transplanting the seedlings differs for dif- 

 ferent genera and species, but they should usually be left in the 

 germination pot until the plant shows at least three or four clusters 

 of spines, except the prickly pears, which can usually be moved as 

 soon as the seed leaves have expanded. By that time the tissues 

 will have become considerably hardened, and a very good root sys- 

 tem will have been formed. The taller growing species, such as 

 Cereus and Opuntia (pi. 1) will be the first ones ready for trans- 

 planting. Mammillaria and kindred genera and plants of similar 

 growth will be the last. The seedlings should be transplanted into 

 a flat sufficiently small for convenient handling, which should be pro- 

 vided with drainage openings in the bottom. It should be filled with 

 the same kind of material and soil as those used in the germination 

 ]30ts, the surface to be carefully leveled in the same way. The rows 

 should be about an inch apart, with the same interval between seed- 

 lings in the row. After the flat has been filled with the seedlings, 

 a thin layer of clean, fine gravel should be placed all over the soil 

 surface and close up around the plants. The flats should then be 

 placed in a perfectly level position, so that the soil will not shift 

 from one side toward the other when watered. With the exception 

 of Opuntia, cactus plants are mostly of slow growth and may remain 

 in the flat for several months before being potted. The proper time 

 for porting is when the plants have grown so large that they begin 

 to crowd each other or when the roots of adjacent plants begin 

 to intermingle. In preparing pots for individual plants the same 

 method should be followed as for the preparation of the germina- 

 tion pots, except that a coarse soil may be used to advantage. It is 

 not advisable to begin with pots smaller than 2y 2 inches, as they 

 dry out too rapidly. 



VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION 



Almost all cacti may be readily propagated from cuttings. The 

 plants are so soft in tissue and so filled with water that any bruise 

 or mutilation is likely to be the point of attack of a rot which quickly 

 destroys them; so, in making the cutting, a clean, sharp knife must 

 be used and a smooth surface left on the cut end. The cutting should 

 then be placed in a dry atmosphere for a day or more, until, by dry- 

 ing, a kind of cuticle has formed over the cut surface. It may then 

 be rooted in sand on a bench or planted directly in pots. In the 

 warmer, drier regions it may be placed directly in the open ground, 

 provided the soil has perfect drainage. In greenhouse culture it is 

 best not to place much of the cutting below the surface of the soil or 

 sand; 1 inch is sufficient for large plants and less than that for 

 smaller ones, in proportion to the size of the piece of plant used. 

 When the cutting is long and likely to fall over, a stick should be 

 inserted in the soil by its side and the two securely tied together until 



