CACTUSES AND OTHER SUCCULENTS 167 



some damage in transit, but will heal quickly 

 in summer. 



Collected plants are generally without 

 roots, or they are so badly damaged that 

 they must be removed. Make a clean cut 

 v/ith a sharp knife (always use a sharp knife 

 in gardening), and if the base of the plant 

 is hard and woody, remove that also, because 

 roots will start only from the fresh growing 

 parts. Cut back to the soft, watery tissue, 

 and expose to the sun until the wound has 

 callused. Any diseased or decayed portion 

 of the plants must be cut out; if this does 

 not stop the spread of the trouble, cut it out 

 again, and then cauterize the wound with 

 a hot iron. 



THE EASY SOIL PROBLEM 



It does not matter much what sort of soil 

 is used so long as it is a well-drained one. 

 That is essential. One successful grower 

 uses equal parts of sandy loam, coal ashes 

 and sand, and advises the improvement of a 

 clayey soil by adding to it a little air-slacked 

 lime. Another, equally successful, uses equal 

 parts of fibrous loam and old lime rubbish 

 (plaster, etc.) from which the fine dust has 



