HARDY 
across and last for 7 to lo days, while 
the plant is quite hardy in so cold and 
damp a climate as that of Belgium. 
Many of the Opuntias give beautiful 
flowers from the middle of June into 
the early days of October, flowers which 
are in many cases remarkable for their 
bright colour. Two hardy kinds have 
already been named in connection with 
0. vulgaris^ though distinct in their 
general effect, in the shape and size of 
their jointed stems, and the number and 
nature of their spines — which are the 
rudimentary leaves of the Cactus. But 
in addition to these the following kinds 
may be considered as hardy throughout 
Central Europe : — 
Opuntia ar^oresce/iSjwhich. rises tree- 
like in its wild state upon a stout stem 
of 30 feet or more, covered thickly with 
clusters of sharp spines, and bearing 
many flowers of rose or rosy-purple 
colour. In Central Europe it spreads 
along the ground instead of rising erect, 
and is the least hardy of the kinds grown 
in the open. If we refer again to 0/>- 
u/itia ca7nanchica it is to name its seven 
varieties, some of which are so distinct 
that they might well be classed as separ- 
ate species. They are : — albispiiia^ with 
large flowers of brownish-yellow and 
long white spines upon the joints; 
lida^ with flowers of very pale yellow ; 
rubra^ a beautiful little plant in which 
the flowers are rosy or deep pink, with 
golden stamens; spinocentra^ with large 
yellow flowers ; and giga?itea^ orbicic- 
laris^ and sahnonea^ which have not yet 
flowered at Floraire. The Optmtia poly- 
acantha — better known perhaps as 
souriensis — bears pale yellow flowers 
CACTI 
upon large, flat joints, studded with fine 
spines set in bunches of yellow down. 
It is a creeping plant, and has been in 
cultivation since 18 14, but until late 
years always under glass. Of this there 
are two beautiful varieties in erythro- 
stemma^-^ little gem, in which the yellow 
flowers are adorned with red stamens; 
ECHINOCEREUS PhOENICEUS. 
and salmojiea^ with cheery flowers of 
salmon-pink. Opuiitia /r<?^//ms another 
old greenhouse plant, of drooping habit, 
its short, rounded joints thickly set with 
white spines and little yellow flowers. 
Its Y^victj caespitosa is of more compact 
growth, with larger yellow flowers shad- 
ing to brown in the centre, and bright 
red stamens. Optmtia mesacantha grows 
as alittle tuft of spreading,spiny growths, 
crowned during summer with bright 
yellow flowers ; while Opuntia Greenii 
bears beautiful flowers of pale lemon- 
yellow. But it is perhaps the Opuntias 
Rhociant/ia and xa7it/iostemma which are 
the finest of all. The first exists under 
five distinct forms, as follows : — 0. 
Rhoda?itha^ with large rosy-lilac flowers 
of rich silky texture, the stamens bright 
red, and the style green ; var. b?Yvis- 
pina^ in which the joints are large and 
of a dark grey-green, covered with short 
