Opuntia gracillima on a Opuntia cylindrica. They form a small bush. It has grown nearly 

 19 cms. in height. 



- Agave Palrneri, from your seeds, we have one sample in Belleville and another in Lyon. 



- Agave virginica, that you sent me died in Belleville and asks to be replaeed. 



Now I would like to write you a few lines about my last studies on the Cactus and its 

 seeds. 



For the last 18 months I regularly receive letters and seeds from my correspondent in 

 Catamarca. I hope to, little by little and thanks to him, get the complete flora of Cacti from 

 that little known region. The most remarkable speeies is a gigantic Pilocereus, that reaehes 

 a height of 10 m. and has a trunk 33 cms. thick. It was shown at the Universal Exposition 

 of Paris in 1878 and today it is in the Botanical Gallery of the Garden of Plants. It is a real 

 Pilocereus; you defined it as a subgender, just like my correspondent, as perfectly 

 indicated in Iiis descriptive notes. He described the notable differences that exist between 

 the flowering branches and the non flowering ones. The latter are armed with strong 

 thorns, whereas the flowering branches have softer thorns. The trunk that is in Paris comes 

 from the region of copper mines of Las Capillitas, situated at 3000 m. Altitude in the 

 Sierra de Atajo, slightly north of Andalgala. I gave it the name of Pilocereus 

 Schickendantzi, in honor of my correspondent. He thought he could distinguish ( with 

 some doubt, never-the-less) two types or perhaps to speeies of this plant: one Coming from 

 Capillitas, and the other from a region more to the west and less elevated (19 to 1800 m. 

 Altitude), in the district of Belen in the locality called Yacutela in the Valley of Grandillas. 

 I gave this second type the name of pilocereus Pasacana because the fruit is called 

 Pasacana by the natives. (Pasacana is the name given by the natives of this country to the 

 fruit of most of the Cereus, just like they call the fruit of the Opuntia, Tuna). My 

 examination of the seeds of both plants makes me think that they are probably identical. 

 You can judge this yourself with the seeds that I will send you.. These have abudantly 

 germinated in my house and in the same manner at Belleville. I have already grafted the 

 young plants to activate their development. 



Another speeies, which is without doubt new is the Cereus Huascha (vernacular name) 

 that remain low and bushy, ( like your Cereus Emoryi\ and who aecording to its name 

 will belong to the group Eulychnia. My correspondent has distinguished 2 types: one has 

 yellow flowers from Yacutula; the other has red flowers found in Andalgala. I am sending 

 you seeds of the Cereus Huascha flaviflorus. 



My correspondent has sent me from many regions of the Sierra de Atajo 4 types of seeds 

 perhaps different from the Echinocactus? They are distinguished by their number, by 

 certain characteristics and by the name of the locality. He did not see the flowers. Some of 

 these become conical or cylindrical and grow up to 1 m. In height; they have a large 

 number of ribs. These are without doubt neighboring speeies of the Echinopsis formosa 

 that I saw bloom in Paris and which is an Eulychnia. 



