470 



CACTLSES UNDER CULTURE. 



they extend westward into Arizona and southward on 

 rocky ridges and barren mesas into Texas and southern 

 New Mexico. 



Of the cylindrical branched opuntias there are in 

 Arizona two or three species (particularly O. Whipplei 

 and O. Bigelovii) which attain a height of ten or twelve 

 feet, with an erect woody stem and many spreading 

 branches. In O. Whipplci the young joints are four to 

 twelve inches long, and one-half to three- fourths of an 

 inch thick. This curious plant is shown in Fig. P. 

 Several smaller species attain a height of four to six 

 feet. 



These opuntias are very conspicuous in the valleys 

 of the Gila and Bill Williams mountains of Arizona, 

 and both men and animals give them a wide berth on 

 account of the innumerable forbidding spines with 

 which they are covered. It would seem as if vegetable 

 life in this region is so precarious and exposed to so 

 many dangers that nature finds it necessary to protect 

 the plants by an armor of the most forbidding and of- 

 fensive kind. 



The genus echinocactus, including the barrel cactuses, 

 is perhaps the most formidable of all in its defensive 

 armor. Here the spines, or a part of them, are gener- 

 ally flattened and thickened at the base, and gradually 

 narrowed to a sharp point like a shoemaker's awl. They 

 are sometimes three or four inches long and very stiff, so 

 that they are capable of inflicting serious wounds. In 

 some species these spines are hooked at the point, and 

 ca^ch hold of the clothing or any object coming in con- 

 tact with them. 



One of the largest of this genus is Echinocactus Wisle- 

 zenii. It is roundish-ovate or oblong in form, growing 

 under favorable circumstances 3 to 5 or more feet 

 high, and i or 2 feet in diameter. It has from 21 to 25 

 ribs running from apex to base, which are covered with 

 clusters of spines at frequent intervals. Notwithstand- 

 ing its formidable appearance, the inhabitants of the 

 country have learned that it contains an abundant 

 watery pulp, to which they often resort for the quench- 

 ing of thirst. This pulp is also sometimes prepared 

 like citron into a pleasant confection. Fig. D. repre- 

 sents a good specimen of Echitiocactus Ejiioiyi, a species 

 found on the Lower Colorado. It attains a height 

 of three feet, and a diameter half to two-thirds as great. 



The flowers are clustered near the top. They are 

 about three inches long, dark brown purple outside, 

 and red and yellow inside. 



But by far the most striking objects of the cactus 

 family are the giant trees of the genus cereus, of which 

 CiTl'us giganteus is the chief (Fig. A). Half a dozen of 

 these have been transplanted to the yard attached to the 

 railroad station at Tucson, Arizona, where they can be 

 seen by travelers. But farther west they can be seen 

 from the cars in many places. On the slopes and at 

 the base of hills and rocky steeps they frequently attain 

 a height of 50 or 60 feet. They are sometimes un- 

 branched, appearing like massive cylindrical columns, 

 but often they have two or three or even as many as 

 nine branches, which immediately after leaving the 

 trunk turn upward and grow parallel with the main 

 stem, presenting the appearance of an immense cande- 

 labrum. The trunk is often 2 feet in diameter. They 

 are not found above the altitude of 3,000 feet. They 

 seem to thrive best in the most desolate and arid locali- 

 ties, on the slopes of valleys and on the desert plateaus. 

 These trees, so unlike anything familiar to northern 

 travelers, are the most striking objects of this great de- 

 sert region. I surveyed a group of these giants with 

 emotions of wonder and admiration. In the vicinity 

 were seen many young plants growing under the shade 

 of the green-barked acacia, which acts as a nurse plant 

 in protecting the young cereus in its early stage of 

 growth. 



The center of the trunk is composed of a juicy pith, 

 four to six inches in diameter ; surrounding that is a 

 cylindrical frame work of woody bands, tough and 

 elastic, and externally is a fleshy or pulpy coating which 

 communicates with the pith through openings in the 

 wood. The flowers are borne near the summit, and are 

 succeeded by a roundish fleshy fruit, of the consistency 

 of a fig, and of a sweet but rather insipid taste. This 

 fruit the Mexicans call fiilaya. It is dislodged from the 

 tree by means of a long light pole with a fork at the 

 end. Two other species of tree cactus occur in the 

 neighboring province of Sonora, Mexico, and another 

 or two in the peninsula of California, and in South 

 America there are several others. 



WasJiiitgtoii. George Vasey. 



CACTUSES UNDER CULTURE. 



NEGLECTED PLANTS OF PECULIAR CHARM. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the interesting forms 

 and magnificent flowers of the cacti, these 

 plants are often unappreciated by those 

 who should grow them. They are no fa- 

 vorites with the "regular gardener," who says that 

 they are " stubborn, flower when they like, and are 

 not fitted for exhibition." This is because he knows 



little of their culture. They will not respond to his 

 unnatural forcing like roses and pelargoniums, but a 

 little attention to their few real wants meets a grate- 

 ful response. 



Cactuses need dryness and a temperature a few degrees 

 above freezing during their rest, and the hottest sun- 

 shine and plenty of water when flowering. No plant is 



