74 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In the summer M. Rebut advises taking all the plants out of 

 the house, merely sheltering them from a north wind, and then 

 watering them very freely over the whole plant. Should the 

 temperature be over 50° Fahr. in the winter, the plants must be- 

 watered much oftener, and the more delicate the plant the more 

 perfect must be the drainage of the pot, so as to keep it fresh .- 

 He does not use peat. Anyone wishing to increase their collec- 

 tion cannot do better than write to M. Rebut for a catalogue. I 

 have always found him to be a most interesting and honourable 

 man, and plants can be easily and cheaply sent by parcel post. 



Mr. Blanc, of Philadelphia, is a large grower of these plants, 

 and for young offsets he recommends a layer of peat, two inches 

 deep, for drainage, and then five or six inches of mica sand, 

 allowing the plants to remain thus for two years. For potting 

 he says the best thing is good loam, with one-third sand, and for 

 Cereus he would use some fertiliser, about one-fifth, and he 

 prefers to have the water for the plants slightly warm, as cold 

 water sometimes checks them. Mr. Blanc's plants are large and 

 fine, and more reasonable in price than in Europe ; but, there 

 being no parcel post, you can only have small plants by sample 

 post, or large ones by " express," taking care to have the parcel 

 prepaid, or it will cost you double. 



My next kind adviser was M. Louis Smet, of Gand, Bel- 

 gium,who writes in English, and is a large cultivator of these 

 plants. He says : " My soil consists chiefly of light Oak-leaf 

 soil, or, even better, leaf-soil of old Willow-trees, put together 

 with a little horse-dung and Reigate white sand, the whole being 

 put in a heap and mixed up once a month, using it only when 

 it is one year old. If the mixture is too strong, I put a little more 

 sand, a light soil bringing more warmth to the root than a 

 heavy one. The compost is kept in the open, but covered on the 

 top to protect from rain. In the winter time keep the plants 

 dry and cool, so as to have a nice rest ; give in daytime 10° to 

 15° Centigrade, less if possible at night. Water very little in 

 winter, in December and January scarcely anything, and in 

 winter never water them on the top of the plant, but this may 

 be done in summer. Before taking the plants inside in the 

 autumn take away about half an inch of soil at the top, and 

 renew with fresh soil. Even in summer, the surface of the soil 

 may be loosened with a small wooden label in order to give air ; 



