December 18, 1890. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
545 
for a previous crop will suit them best, as fresh manure tends to 
make the roots forked. The ground must be free from wireworms 
and injurious insects. I have seen ground intended for Carrots 
given a heavy watering with salt water in winter, and judging 
from the following crops it proved highly beneficial to the growth 
of the Carrots, and also acted as a preventive of maggot. 
For the main crop sow in March or April in shallow drills 
inches apart. The seed requires to be well rubbed between the 
hands before it is sown, otherwise it cannot be distributed equally, 
the seeds being apt to cling together if not well rubbed. Thin to 
2 inches apart, and when they have gained a useful size every other 
one may be drawn for use, leaving the main crop 4 or 5 inches 
asunder. The main crop will be ready to lift early in November. 
The tops should be cut off close to the crown, and the roots stored 
in sand or ashes in a dry place. Early Carrots are often in demand, 
and may be obtained by sowing on a mild hotbed in early spring. 
Stable litter, with plenty of leaves mixed with it, may be prepared 
and placed into a frame ; this should be trodden firmly, and allowed 
to remain a few days before sowing. Eight inches of soil should 
be spread over the manure, the seeds sown broadcast and watered 
in. Air should be given on every favourable opportunity when the 
plants appear, or they will soon be drawn. 
Celery. —The best and most open situation in the kitchen 
garden must be selected for the cultivation of this vegetable, with 
the best farmyard manure dug into the trenches before planting. 
Sow the seeds in February in pans of light soil and placed in a 
moderate heat. As soon as the plants are large enough they may 
be pricked off into frames or deep boxes, using a compost of two 
parts loam, one part leaf mould, and one part good decayed manure. 
Frames are best for this purpose as allowing a greater depth of 
soil than boxes, consequently the plants are not so liable to 
“ bolt.” When boxes are used a good layer of manure over the 
crocks will be found advantageous in sustaining moisture at the 
roots. Harden the plants gradually and place them out in June in 
trenches which have been previously well manured. The trenches 
should be 15 inches wide and 12 inches deep ; the plants are best 
placed in angles 9 inches apart. During the whole growing period 
never allow the plants to suffer from want of water ; frequent 
supplies of liquid manure will be found beneficial when they are 
in the trenches. 
Earthing may be commenced in September, and continued by 
stages, first tying the plants round with matting to keep the soil 
from the hearts and taking all laterals and dead leaves from the 
base. A sprinkling of lime among the plants when earthing up will 
be found efficacious in destroying slugs ; it also adds materially to 
the flavour. Cover the ridges with dry straw or litter when frost 
sets in. 
(To be continued.) 
PHYLLOCACTUS. 
As attention is being especially drawn to these plants, and Messrs* 
J. Veitch & Sons of Chelsea have a series of choice hybrids, some of 
which have been certificated, for distribution next year, I have been 
desired to reproduce a chapter that was written on this subject some 
years ago. The issue of the Journal in which the notes first appeared 
has been long out of print, and my little work on “ Cactaceous Plants,” 
in which they were embodied, is also out of print ; consequently with 
some emendations and additions I again give the article referring to the 
Phyllocactus in response to the wishes of several who are interested in 
the plants. 
The most valuable genera in the whole Cactus family, considered 
from a horticulturist’s standpoint, are undoubtedly the Phyllocactus and 
the Epiphyllum, and they are the only two which can be said to have 
partially escaped the modern neglect of the Cacteae as garden plants. 
These are still established favourites in many places, but they are 
comparative strangers to numbers of cultivators who might advantage¬ 
ously include them in their collections. Profuse in flowering, with large 
showy blooms, most variously coloured, from the richest crimsons and 
brightest scarlets to the most delicate rose and blush tints, they are 
•unexcelled in beauty by any of the ordinary plants grown for decoration. 
So far from being fastidious or requiring any particular routine of 
culture, they are often treated with utmost carelessness, stored in “out- 
of-the-way ” corners, and left in a measure to take care of themselves ; 
yet do they repay their ungenerous hosts with abundance of glorious 
flowers, and then only are they brought into sight, to be again consigned 
to the old quarters when the flowering season is over. Like every other 
plant that is easily grown the Phyllocactuses and their allies respond 
most promptly to liberal treatment, and well as they may seem to be 
under the careless system, they are incomparably superior where their 
moderate requirements are studied and provided for. It is sometimes 
said that the flowering period is so short that they are scarcely worth 
the space they occupy for so many months, but assertions such as these 
have been formed upon limited experience. Phyllocactuses may be had 
in flower for three or four months in the year by having a dozen or 
two plants in different stages, and with the Epiphyllums the flowering 
season can be prolonged for at least six months out of the twelve in an 
almost unbroken succession. Outside the ordinary decorative plants, 
such as Pelargoniums, &c., there are very few which possess so many 
recommendations as these, and it is to be hoped that their merits will 
become more widely recognised. 
The genus Phyllocactus as now constituted includes thirteen species, 
natives of tropical America, Mexico, and Brazil, and are chiefly dis¬ 
tinguished by their flattened leaf-like branches, with a prominent 
midrib, and by the large many-petalled flowers being produced from 
the notches in the edge of the stem or branches. These characters 
suffice in a broad sense to separate them from Cereus and Epiphyllum, 
their near neighbours. They are also epiphytal in habit, but this 
character is shared by several other Cacteae, and is therefore only 
useful as a cultural guide. In gardens, and even amongst botanists, 
there has been much confusion respecting these plants, some of the 
species having been referred to Cereus, some to Epiphyllum, and most 
of the older forms appear in works under the title Cactus. The prin¬ 
cipal confusion has, however, been between the Epiphyllums and the 
Phyllocactus ; for even now, although the distinction has been clearly 
pointed out by recent writers, the two names are frequently employed 
in current literature as synonymous. 
Culture .—The most important item in the culture is the soil, and 
this is easily provided. A light turfy loam should form the basis of 
the compost, and to this may be added one-third of leaf soil, old dried 
cow manure, and sand, well mixed together and employed in a rather 
dry state. The pots must be well drained, as the plants do not require 
a great depth of soil, and any approach to stagnation about the roots 
is the surest means of causing failure. When plants have attained a 
good size and the pots are filled with roots an annual top-dressing of 
soil and manure will be sufficient without repotting them, and is even 
preferable, as the plants appear to flower more profusely when retained 
for some years in the same pots. It is, however, occasionally necessary 
to turn the plants out to see that the drainage is in proper condition. 
As regards temperature, Phyllocactuses are by no means particular ; 
they will succeed in an unheated house or frame, in a greenhouse or in 
a window, and in all these positions the majority will flower freely, but 
the best results are obtained by having them in a warm greenhouse, 
what is termed an intermediate house, during their growing period. 
After the growth has been completed they can be placed in cooler and 
more airy quarters, or a similar result can be obtained by keeping 
the frame closed while growth is advancing and ventilating freely 
afterwards. 
Propagation .—They are readily increased by means of cuttings, 
which, if inserted in sandy soil in moderate heat and kept rather 
dry for a week or two, only slightly syringing them, will form roots, 
and can be placed singly in 60-size pots, Seeds are produced freely, 
and these may be sown in pans of light soil, placed in a dry part 
of the stove or in a warm house until they germinate, when a light 
position must be afforded the plants until they are large enough to 
be potted singly. 
Select Species. 
P. Ackermanni, Haworth .—One of the most handsome and best 
known forms in cultivation, remarkable alike for the large size, rich 
colour, and profusion of its flowers. It has been regarded by some 
writers as a hybrid, and is mentioned as such by Herbert, but upon what 
evidence does not appear. Lindley, on the other hand, gives a full account 
of the plant, and states that it was brought from Mexico by Mr. George 
Ackerman, in whose honour it was named by Haworth, the original stem 
having first flowered in Mr. Tate’s nursery in June, 1829. A somewhat 
peculiar circumstance is, however, mentioned by the same authority— 
namely, that a seedling raised by Mr. Smith, gardener to Lord Liverpool, 
Coombe Wood, was flowered at the same time, and proved so similar in 
its characters that they could only be distinguished by a close examina¬ 
tion. Whatever it be there can be no question respecting its beauty, 
and that is sufficient to recommend it to the attention of the readers of 
these notes. The flowers are 6 to 8 inches in diameter, with rich crimson 
shining petals, the outer ones lighter in colour. The stems are flat and 
crenated or notched, bearing the flowers on these depressions. Several 
varieties and hybrids have been raised from P. Ackermanni by crossing 
it with species of Cereus, especially C. speciosissimus, which has yielded 
a race of handsome forms differing in the colour and size of the flowers, 
but chiefly shades of crimson or red. It is also said that P. Ackermanni 
has been successfully crossed with Cereus flagelliformis in France, the 
plants resulting differing greatly from both parents, but I have never 
had an opportunity of seeing these forms. A beautiful hybrid between 
P. Ackermanni and P. crenatus has been raised and flowered in this 
country, in which the inner petals were of a soft pale rosy tint and the 
outer a deep crimson, affording a pretty contrast. One valuable cha¬ 
racter of this species and its varieties is that they may be had in flower 
from May to August or even longer than that with a good stock of 
plants brought forward a few at a time. 
P. angtjliger, Lemaire .—An extremely distinct plant, easily re¬ 
cognised by the deeply angled stems 2 to 3 inches in diameter, which 
are indented on the margin somewhat like a large saw with the teeth 
turned upwards, forming blunt triangular lobes. The flowers, which 
are 3 to 5 inches in diameter, the petals white, the sepals narrow, orange 
or yellowish, and spreading, open during the day, and continue expanded 
for a considerable time, giving out a powerful fragrance. It was found 
by Hartweg during his travels in the west of Mexico growing upon trees 
