ON CACTI AND OTHER SUCCULENTS. 



803 



Many species will succeed well in a rockery under a 

 frame, merely 

 requiring a 

 little protec- 

 tion against 

 our generally 

 damp and 

 foggy climate. 

 Amongst these 

 are : C er eu s 

 Engelmanni^ 

 C. Fe7idleri^ 

 C. gonaca n th us, 

 C. phoeniceus, 

 Echinocactus 

 P e n 1 1 a n d i , 

 E. Simpsoni, 

 Ma 711 in il I aria 

 vivipara, Opun- 

 tia humilis, O. 

 missouriensis, 

 O. Rafinesquii 

 and var. ar- 

 kansana, and 

 O. vulgaris. 



Other Succulents. 



Agaves (American Aloes) are very handsome and ornamental 

 plants, having thick, fleshy leaves and sharp spines. Many attain 

 a large size, and require to be grown in tubs, but there are also 

 smaller species which are more suited to houses of limited 

 dimensions. However, the larger species are very slow growing 

 under cultivation, so that if small specimens are obtained they 

 will not require much room for a long time. There is an 

 erroneous idea in many people's minds that these plants only 

 flower once in a century. Certainly this is so far correct with 

 nearly all the species, inasmuch as they die directly after 

 blossoming ; but it is quite wrong to suppose that there is any 

 stated time for their doing so. A. filifera and a few others will 

 occasionally survive if the flowers happen to be produced from a 

 lateral instead of a crown bud. The flower-spikes themselves are 

 very handsome, being produced on long stems, which in the large 

 species attain a great height. Propagate by suckers, give thorough 

 drainage, and grow in stiff", yellow loam. Expose to the full sun 

 during summer, and give plenty of water at that season. Large- 

 growing sorts : A. americana (Fig. 542) and vars. picta and 

 variegata, A. Ifookeri, A. Maxiniiliana, A. potatorum, and 



3 F 2 



