60 
CACTUS. 
require as rich a soil and nearly as much water as 
other Plants to have them grow and flower well. 
They thrive well in a good sandy loam, and about 
one-third of decayed manure; a little peat soil may 
be added, if convenient, and a little old lime mixed 
with the compost. In potting or shifting, put broken 
potsherds or gravel at the bottom of the pot, and the 
best time to do this is as soon as they have done flow¬ 
ering, that the shoots may grow strong for flowering 
the next season. The Cereus, like other plants, re¬ 
quires a good supply of water when flowering and 
during their growth in summer; when they have 
completed their growth they will need but little water. 
In summer they should be kept in a sheltered situ¬ 
ation, not exposed to the full sun, as they are apt to 
get scorched, nor exposed to heavy rains, for it causes 
them to get spotted and die; they keep well on 
a back shelf in a Greenhouse, as they have the heat 
without much sun, or in an east room window, or in 
the veranda. They should be kept tied up to the sticks 
or trellis as they grow, to prevent their getting broke, 
as they are prickly Plants, and not easy to handle. 
The C. speciosissimus, and other strong growing 
kinds may have the ends of their young shoots pinched 
with the thumb and finger, or the tips cut off when 
they have grown as long as desired; which will stop 
them from growing longer, and cause the shoots to 
thicken and form flower buds. This, with cutting 
out any exhausted stems, and thinning out the shoots 
when too thick, is all they require. When it is requi¬ 
site to shift them, a cloth may be wound round them 
to hold them by, as the thorns are very painful if 
they get in the fingers. 
