84 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
The Cactus—Good fox the House. 
This family of succuleut plants is remarkable 
for tenacity of life—so great in some varieties 
that they retain vitality for years in a hot, dry at¬ 
mosphere without receiving a particle of mois¬ 
ture except that absorbed from the atmosphere. 
• This tenacity of life is owing to their peculiar 
structure, which allows them to exhale moisture 
but very slowly, for they have no proper leaves. 
We know of no other tribe of plants so peculiar¬ 
ly adapted to growing in rooms, or which re¬ 
pays so abunuantly the little care required in 
the culture. It is to be re¬ 
gretted that so little atten¬ 
tion is paid to this beauti¬ 
ful and interesting class of 
plants, because they 
so easily cultivated and 
are not impatient of occa¬ 
sional neglect. The spe¬ 
cies and varieties are very 
numerous, amounting in 
all to several hundreds. 
The cactus family is di¬ 
vided into several genera, 
such as the Opuntia (of 
the general form and 
growth of which our en¬ 
graving gives a good re¬ 
presentation,) Hammilla- 
ria, called the ball cac¬ 
tus, having spines clus¬ 
tered around a small tu¬ 
bercle; Cereus, having for 
the most part long pliant 
shoots ;, Epiphyllum with 
stems resembling leaves; 
Melocactus resembling mel¬ 
ons ; RMpsalis, most of the 
species having flexible 
stems, like (rhips) willow 
twigs; Echinocactus named 
on account of the pre¬ 
vailing form, from echinus, a hedgehog. 
There are still other divisions of the family, 
but these are sufficient to show how and why 
it is divided. There are many beautiful va¬ 
rieties in each of these genera, and all of them 
are so curious that they are well worthy of cul¬ 
tivation. The cacti are natives of North and 
South America, as well as nearly all the West 
India Islands. They are mostly very impatient 
of frost, the least freezing generally destroying 
them. There are, however, a few hardy species, 
of which one of the most common is found 
very plentifully among the highlands along the 
Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. It is 
commonly called the Prickly Pear, and belongs 
to the genus Opuntia. Its flowers are yellow, like 
most others of this class. Though the cactus 
will grow in nearly pure sand, it does best on 
good soil. A good compost is equal parts of 
rich loam, decomposed cow manure, and white 
sand. Mix these well together and keep in a 
dry place, always ready for use. The main 
points are to allow a period of growth and a pe¬ 
riod of rest,, according as nearly as possible with 
the nature and habits of the plants. When 
growing water well, and but little when at rest. 
For all practical purposes the cacti may be 
divided into two classes—Winter blooming and 
Summer blooming. Of course the time of flow¬ 
ering may be somewhat varied by culture, but 
it is best to follow the natural tendency of the 
plant. Those who can had better purchase their 
plants while in bloom, unless they are acquaint¬ 
ed with the varieties. As soon as the plants 
have done flowering take them out of the pots 
and crumble off half an inch or so of the soil all 
around the ball adhering to the roots; then put 
them into pots about one inch larger than those 
from which they were taken, putting in plenty 
of pieces of broken bricks or pots in the bottom 
for drainage. Give them a little water, just 
enough to settle the soil around the roots and 
water them not more than once a week thereaf¬ 
ter. Place them in a warm situation where they 
will receive plenty of light and when the 
plants begin to grow, water them twice a week, 
or often enough to keep the soil moist but not 
Cactus.—Opuntia. 
wet. Syringe the plants to keep the stems clean. 
In Summer the plants may be set out of doors, 
placing them on boards or flat stones, and if 
pure sand surrounds the pots it will be of great 
service, defending the roots from the direct rays 
of the sun. Remove the plants to the house be¬ 
fore frosts, and give those plants that are not 
going to bloom only sufficient water to keep them 
from shriveling. Those that show signs of 
blooming (a reddish tint seen around their buds) 
should have a regular supply of water. The 
necessary temperature of the room is from 60° 
to 75°, or it may be even' warmer, but make 
no sudden transitions from heat to cold, or the 
buds will blight. The wants and habits of the 
plant will be readily learned by observation. 
When cuttings are taken off they should be 
placed on a shelf in a dry place and left there for 
one or two weeks before potting them; this 
causes them to loose part of their watery sub¬ 
stance and they root more readily. Put them in 
soil composed of at least half sand, and give 
them but very little water until they are rooted. 
A Hint to Pear Growers. 
Theories and rules are all very well, in their 
time and place. But just now, we have a fact 
or two for young pear-cultivators. Having no¬ 
ticed that a certain plain and quiet man, year af¬ 
ter year brought very handsome pears to the 
County Exhibition, while many.others brought 
poor fruit or none, we resolved to visit him and 
see how this thing was done. On asking to see 
his pear-trees, he smiled, and said he couldn’t 
make much of a show. He led us to a square 
patch of ground adjoining his vegetable garden, 
where were just twenty-five trees, all of them 
on the quince-stock. A few things were visible 
at a glance. First, the wood was healthy and 
vigorous ; the bark was clear of insects, and 
the foliage a bright green. Second, the trees had 
befen well trained from the start. The lower 
branches shot out at about eighteen inches from 
the ground, and they were the largest and 
strongest of all. The other tiers of branches ta¬ 
pered gradually to a point at the top, the whole 
tree forming a pyramid, like a handsome fir-tree. 
Very well, so far. But what means this floor¬ 
ing of straw spread all over the ground ? “ That’s 
my summer mulch, sir; my soil is rather sandy, 
and is apt to suffer from drouth in mid-summer; 
so I cover it with this light, porous blanket. 
This straw is bright and clean, so it don’t bring 
in vermin nor seeds of weeds; and then, it is so 
light and open, it does not prevent free circula¬ 
tion of air and moisture about the roots of the 
trees. I got this idea from Mr. Charles Down¬ 
ing, who is the father of many good ideas.” 
On a little closer examination, we found that 
the straw was laid about six inches thick over 
the entire fruit-garden, paths and all. Our 
friend said he spread it on in the month of June, 
just after the ground had received its Spring 
dressing and cleaning. When once down, it 
saved the labor of any further hoeing until the 
middle of September, when it was removed to 
allow the young wood plenty of time to ripen 
up hard and bright before Winter. If left on 
through the Winter, it was quite sure to harbor 
mice.. Just before cold weather set in, our friend 
was in the habit of winding a thin straw band 
around the trunks of his trees. He thought this 
would prevent sudden thawing of the bark after 
hard freezing. In Autumn, he gave each tree 
half a bushel of half-rotted manure, spreading 
it as far as the limbs extended over the ground. 
The foregoing was the whole of his secret 
method of raising regular and handsome crops 
of pears on the quince stock. The labor of 
putting down the straw and gathering it up, 
was much less, he assured us, than the cultiva¬ 
tion of the ground would be, if not mulched. 
What Grapes shall I Plant? 
This is the question which just now occupies 
the thoughts of fruit-culturists perhaps more 
than any other. It comes to us from the North 
and South, the East and West. We can not 
put it by, if we would; so here is our reply: 
But our answer, to be intelligent and useful, 
must depend altogether upon the circumstances 
of the inquirer, where he lives, and whether lie 
wants to raise grapes for the table, or for wine. 
1. If one lives north of latitude 43°, and wishes 
to dabble in wine-making, we fear he will not 
make a very marketable article. Southern 
France, and even southern Ohio will excel him. 
But the best grapes to try with, are the Del¬ 
aware and Clinton. And then, for the dessert, 
leave out the Clinton, and add the following: 
Hartford Prolific, Concord, and Logan. If one 
does not live north of lat. 43°, he may, in 
some seasons, ripen the Diana and Rebecca, 
provided he gives them a warm exposure. With 
the Isabella and Catatvba, it would be useless 
to meddle. For a select list of four under this 
head, we would say, plant Delaware, Concord, 
Hartford Prolific, and Logan. 
2. If living south of lat. 43°, and above 40°, 
