November, 191.S 



THE r.ARDbJN AND FIELD. 



24.", 



Cactus Plants for Green- 

 house and Window. 



An enthusiastic cactus grower 

 writes in "The (Tardeu," of plants 

 uniler glass, with us, of course, 

 nianV varieties do well in the open 

 garden. He writes : — 



One of the most important con- 

 siderations with a gardener is to 

 grow plants which can be left 

 during the daytime without harm. 

 With most plants there is the shad- 

 ing to put on if the sun is bright, 

 and ten hours during the day is 

 too long to leave many ■wHlttout 

 water. The Cactus enthusiast can 

 go off to business in the morning 

 feeling satisfied that, whether it 

 rains or the sun shines, his plants 

 will not harm'. Their reqiuirements 

 are simple, and thev thrive with a 

 minimum of attention. 



— Treatment of the Plants. — 



When we consider that in their 

 native habitats Cacti grow in the 

 crevices of rocks and in dry barren 

 soil, we shall have some idea of 

 the treatment thev require. Dur- 

 ing the growing season thev are 

 subject to torrents of rain, while 

 during the remainder of the year 

 the sun blazes on them and the 

 ground becomes parched. Nature 

 has provided them with thick 

 fleshv stems, so that thev are able 

 to go without water for weeks. 

 During winter thev require' little 

 or no water. Tt often happens 

 that all the trouble taken by an 

 amateur with his plants in the 

 greenhouse is ruined while he is 

 away. There is no likelihood of 

 this with Cacti ; if left for a fort- 

 night or even more without water 

 they will not harm. When grown 

 in greenhou.ses containing a mixed 

 collection of plants thev should be 

 given the highest position. 



— Potting. — 



The plants like plentv of drain- 

 age and porous soil. L'se clean 

 pots, and as a rule the smaller the 



CARNATIONS. 



LANE'S NOVELTIES— STPONH 

 PLANTS NOW READY. 

 INSPECTION INVITED. 



Cut Flowers of all kinds always on 

 hand and cut to Order. 



J. O. LANE, 



NURSERYMAN, WALKERVILLE 



pot, within reason, the better the 

 plants thrive. Many ran remain 

 in the same pot for years. Fibrous 

 loam three parts and half a part 

 each of broken brick rubble and 

 old mortar form a suital)le' soil. 

 In the spring the plants should 

 be syringed every morning and re- 

 ceive plenty of water ; this treat- 

 ment may be continued until the 

 end of summer, when water must 

 be gradually withheld. Propaga- 

 tion is carried out by means of 

 cuttings and .seeds. In ^''e ca.se of 

 the latter it necessarily taj^es se- 

 veral years to obtain fair-sized 

 plants. The seeds .should be sown 

 in spring in pots or pans contain- 

 ing plenty of drain.i-e and light 

 sandy soil. Some of the kinds can 

 be increased by division, notably 

 Mamillarias. Grafting is also prac- 

 tised, some of the weaker so'rts be- 

 ing grafted on the stronger. 



— The Hedgehog Cactus (Echiino- 

 cactus). — 



Many of these are remarkable for 

 their stout, often hooked, spines. 

 The flowers attain to a consider- 

 able size and vary in colour. The 

 Golden Cactus CE. Grusonii) has 

 an enormous globular stem, gol- 

 den yellow si^ines and is very dis- 

 tinct. The Bishop's Hood (E. My- 

 riostigma) at first looks more like 

 a piece of chiselled granite than a 

 living plant : it has small clusters 

 of minute hairs dotted all over 

 the stem, giving the plant the 

 appearance of being marked with 

 white spots. The Fish-hook Cac- 

 tus CE. Wislizeni), is a larsre- 

 stemmed kind with prominently 

 hooked spines. 



— Cerens. — 



These differ very much in . size, 

 mode of growth and flowfering 

 characters. Three distinct types 

 of growth are noticeable. First of 

 all there are -those with thick 

 fleshy stems, columnar or globular 

 in growth; the next in importance 

 are the climbin(r sorts ; and, third- 

 ly, those with hancring or trailing 

 stems. To the first-named group 

 belong- the triant C. jnpfanteus, at- 

 taininor 3 heio"ht of .So feet or more 

 in its native haimts of California 

 and Mexico. Plants of this can he 

 grown in a small ffreenhouse. C. 

 pemvianus is a tall, rapid grower, 

 flowers white, tino-ed with red on 

 the underside. ■ C. vaTiabilis ^s a 

 tall nio-ht-flowering- species, with 

 cream white flowers. The Old Man 

 Cactus ''C. senilis) is one of the 

 most attractive of the Cactus 

 family : the long silky white hairs, 

 6 inches or more are peculiar. 

 C. sTandiflorus (Queen of the 

 Night) is one of the most beautiful 



climljiug SKI ts ; the flowers are de- 

 lightfully fragrant, opening at 

 night, pure white inside, reddish 

 brown oi'itside. C. llagclliformis 

 (the Rat-tail Cactus) is most in- 

 teresting ; it has rich rosy red 

 flowers. I'A'cn without flowers it 

 is exceedingU' interesting; the stems 

 hang down when the plants are 

 suspended from the roof like so 

 many thick tails. It is sometimes 

 met with growing and flowering 

 freely in windows. 



— Thimble Cactus (Mamillaria). — 



These are popular with cultiva- 

 tors of Cacti, most of them being 

 small in growth, and a collection 

 takes up little space. The clusters 

 of small stems growing in a pot . 

 have a fascination of their own. 

 Sometimes little more than an 

 inch in height, often covered with 

 silkv spines, it seems almo.st im- 

 possible to believe they are living 

 plants. A number have very beau- 

 tiful flowers, while some produce 

 small red berry-like fruits when 

 the flowers wither. M. elongata 

 prodiuces offsets freely from the 

 base; stems about the thickness of 

 one's finger, flowers yellow. 



— Phyllocactus. — 



These are distinguished from the 

 plants usually referred to when 

 speaking of Cactus by their flat- 

 tened branches, which are leaf-likie 

 in general appearance. These grow 

 out of the ends of others, and also 

 from the stem near the base. 

 They are, perhaps, the most wide- 

 ly grown of the Cactus family, 

 and thev certainly excel them all 

 in point of variety and brilliant 

 colouring of the flowers. Thev 

 should be given the warmest posi- 

 tion in the greenhouse or window. - 

 Mix a little leaf-mould with the 

 potting soil, and give a little weak 

 liqiuid manuring durin"- the grow- 

 ing season. Established plants 

 should not be potted annually ; 

 thev floAVer better if lelt in the 

 same pot for three or four years. 

 A top-dressing of fresh soil and 

 cow manure annually is sufficient. 

 Cuttings inserted in spring root 

 readily. 



— Euphorbias. — 



These do not actually belong to 

 the ' Cactus family, but many of 

 them are very similar in appear- 

 ance. It is easy to find out whe- 

 ther a plant is a Euphorbia or 

 not, by pricking it with a pin. 

 If a milk-like jiiice exudes, the 

 plant is a Euphorbia ; if watery 

 in apptsarance, it belongs to one 

 or other of the Cactus family. The 

 flowers are not conspicuous, the 

 curious stems and spines being the 

 most notable features. 



