4 



Weber, A.F. Lyon, March 29, 1877 



less 40 years ago and described in 1837 by Professor Hinslow in Edimburg under the 

 name Opuntia Galapagcia. Its description is accompanied by a drawing that I copied and 

 that I am sending you at the same time as a copy of the description with two bundles of 

 thorns taken from the dried sample at the Paris Museum. If your sample of the Agassiz is 

 still alive, you will without doubt be able to make a specific identification. I would be 

 appreciative if you would send me a cutting of the other species from the Galapagos. If the 

 time permits me to I will make some excerpts of the manuscript of Plumier, that I copied 

 and that concern themselves with the Cereus opuntioides or moniliformis. I will include a 

 table of all the locations that you mention. His Cereus opuntioides was found by him in 

 Haiti, in a place along the ocean that he named " the band of the south". I consulted 

 several ancient maps of the French portion of the Dominican Island ( the south is the area 

 that Plumier explored), but I could not find this band of the south. Perhaps in the country 

 it will be easier to know where to search for this locality in this region. But, your friend 

 Mr. Gabb, lives without doubt in the Spanish part of the Dominican Island and of which 

 Plumier does not talk about. If you would permit me to give you some advice, I would teil 

 you that if Mr. Gabb should be interested in Cacti he could in case be of great Service 

 concerning the geographica! distribution of the Cacti. He could confine himself to collect 

 seeds of all the species that he encounters indicating the locality or the region from where 

 these seeds come from. If those seeds arrive in my hands I will make an exact note of their 

 origin and after 2 or 3 years I will be able to determine most of the species. Many will 

 already have been introduced in our gardens. At St. Domingue one finds Cereus 

 triangularis, grandifloris, nysticalus, etc. And quite a large number of large Cereus that 

 have edible fruits. There are also Cereus columnaris that have flowers like the Pilocereus 

 similar to the Cereus floccosus, niger, aureus, nigricans, hermentianus, etc. It would be 

 simple to collect from all these species, noting the regions where they grow, information in 

 regards the average height of each species and its native name. A certain number of small 

 packages of seeds picked without knowing their botanical Classification, only knowing 

 there place of origin, will constitute a source for the geographic botany of the Cactus. Mr. 

 Gabb could easily be a Service for St. Domingue. 



I was preparing to send you today details on the Echinocactus californicus monv., 

 introduced 30 years ago into the French collections but very rare. You mentioned in your 

 Cacti from California that it is the Echinocactus viridescens that was cultivated in Europe 

 under the name of californicus. Where did you obtain this information? I can confirm that 



