60 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



plants are sufficiently strong to bear this additional 

 tax on their food-supplying power, the flower- 

 scapes should be allowed to remain on them until the 

 young plants appear. This viviparous character of 

 the flower-spike is found in some of the Odonto- 

 glossums, Oncidiums, Epidendrums, and several other 

 genera. Division at the root is, however, the most 

 universally practised of the methods of propagation 

 for these plants, and to this we shall again refer 

 under the section " Division." (See also articles on 

 " Seed-raising " and " Hybridisation.") 



Succulents. — The nature of these plants is such 

 as renders their increase by means of cuttings easy. 

 Their skin is so formed that perspiration takes place 

 very slowly through it unless under the influence of 

 powerful stimulants, and when in a young state. This 

 enables them to remain plump and uninjured by long 

 exposure to drought. In the same way when pieces 

 of their stems or branches are removed, these have 

 stored up in their fleshy portions an abundance of 

 food and moisture, which not only keeps the severed 

 parts in health till roots are formed, but contri- 

 butes to their early formation. 



For some of the weaker and more delicate succu- 

 lents which are found amongst the Cactus group, 

 grafting is sometimes found more suitable than cut- 

 tings on their own roots. The Epiphyllums, Rhip- 

 salis, and a few Mamillarias, are of these. Even 

 these are, however, easily increased by means of 

 cuttings in the ordinary way ; and, indeed, plants on 

 their own roots, instead of grafted ones, are preferred 

 hy some cultivators. 



The Cacti order is composed exclusively of succu- 

 lents, and to the numerous useful garden plants 

 which are included in the genera Phyllocactus, 

 Echinocactus, Cereus, Epiphyllum, Mamillaria, and 

 Opuntia we will turn first. For the branching 

 genera, i.e., Phyllocactus, Epiphyllum. &c, all that 

 is necessary is to remove portions of the shoots, large 

 or small, according as they can be spared, and after 

 allowing their wounds to dry by lying exposed for 

 a day or two, to place them in a moist soil in a warm 

 house. Here they will form roots in a few days. 

 Roots are emitted by cuttings of these plants, even, 

 when left with their bases exposed, if the temperature 

 of the house in which they stand is sufficiently warm 

 and humid. Large branches of these plants root just 

 as readily as small ones, for we have seen branches 

 of Opuntias and Cereus of very large size removed 

 from stems which have become leggy, and after, a 

 few days' exposure, planted in soil, when they have 

 rooted without showing the least sign of suffering. 

 « In the lavas at the foot of ^Etna," De Candolle 

 observes, •''Opuntias are- largely multiplied as fol- 

 lows : — As soon as a fissure is perceived, a branch 



of an Opuntia is stuck in ; the latter pushes out 

 roots, which are noui-ished by the rain that collet ts 

 round them, or by whatever dust or remains of 

 organic matter may have collected into a little soil. 

 These roots, once developed, insinuate themselves 

 into the most minute crevices, expand, and finally 

 break up the lava into mere fragments." 



Those species that possess neither branches nor 

 joints, such as the Echinocactus and Melocactus, are 

 induced to yield cuttings by the following treatment : 

 — Though no branches are formed by these plants, a 

 bud capable of developing into one is enclosed in each 

 of the tufts of spines which clothe the ridges of the 

 stem, and, to compel these buds to grow, the apex of 

 the plant is either cut or burnt so as to check growth 

 at the upper extremity, which causes the latent buds 

 to push and develop into little branches, which 

 when large enough may be removed and treated as 

 cuttings. Early spring is the most favourable season 

 for the performance of the above operations. 



All the succulent species of Euphorbia may be in- 

 creased by means of the methods advised for Cacti ; 

 they, too, emit roots quite freely from very large and 

 old cuttings. 



The Aloes, Gasterias, Haworthias, Agaves, and 

 Fourcroyas are increased by means of suckers, which 

 are often produced by these plants when old. Many 

 of the species belonging to the first three genera may 

 be multiplied by means of leaf-cuttings, for details of 

 which see chapter on that subject. The flower-stems 

 of Agave and Fourcroya are often proliferous, i.e., 

 produce a number of young plants, which sometimes 

 remain fixed to the flower- stem till roots are formed. 

 It need hardly be said these plants are not the out- 

 come of seeds, but are developed from the stem in 

 much the same manner as in the well-known 

 Bryophyllum. 



Mesembryanthemums, Echeverias, Sempervivums, 

 Kleinias, and other popular genera of succulent 

 plants are propagated either from cuttings or by 

 means of leaves. The cuttings strike freely at any 

 time of the year; the most important point to be 

 observed during the callusing and root-forming 

 period, is that of keeping the soil in which the 

 cuttings are planted almost totally dry. 



Stapelias have the natural habit of losing their 

 roots and the lower portion of their stems every 

 autumn, whilst in addition to this they have a 

 strong antipathy to moisture during the winter 

 months. For those which lose their roots in a 

 natural way, and also for those that, either through 

 cold or too much moisture, have commenced to decay 

 at the base, the following directions will be found 

 applicable. The whole of the decaying portion of 

 the plants, or branches, should be carefully scraped 

 away, and the healthy portions pegged on to a sandy 



