82 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
solferino. For an amateur’s collection, these varieties 
are all that could be desired. For florists’ use, they 
have not been long enough under cultivation to test 
their merits, which is a severe one, as a Car¬ 
nation to be of value as a cut^ flower, must not 
only be a free bloomer, but a vigorous grower, 
with well-defined flowers of good size, and those of 
good substance. 
NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS. 
How often have I been delighted to visit the collec¬ 
tion of the intelligent cultivator of plants, to be warmed 
by his enthusiasm, to impart mutual instruction, and to 
share the pure pleasure arising from the contemplation 
of the floral beauties of Nature. When we take a view 
of the floral display of the vegetable kingdom, how can 
the human mind be otherwise than interested? The 
grotesque forms of some excite our wonder, the gorgeous 
display of others our admiration, the graceful and ele¬ 
gant bespeak our esteem, and the fragile and lowly com¬ 
mand our care. 
When the magnificent flowers of Cereus grandiflorus 
.are expanded they attract the admiration of everybody; 
it never opens its blossoms whilst under the direct influ¬ 
ence of the sun’s rays, and closes them never to open 
again as soon the beams of the morning sun glance upon 
the house in which they are grown. I prefer growing 
this Cereus in a pot to which is affixed a cylindrical 
trellis from three to four feet high. The plant can then 
be moved to the positions best adapted for its growth, or 
when at rest during winter for the maturation of the 
sap; and when in flower it may, with facility, be re¬ 
moved to the drawing-room. When in a growing state 
it delights in a warm, moist atmosphere, where it will 
lengthen its stems, or produce new branches from one to 
two feet in length in one season. These should be tied 
to the trellis as regular -as the contorted habit and 
brittleness of the stems will permit. As the stems 
advance in growth, numerous roots will be protruded 
from their under side, which will eventually reach the 
soil in the pot, and they will materially assist in the 
future growth of the plant and the development of the 
flowers. As it is no easy matter to remove a plant of 
this description from one pot to another when once 
established on the trellis, care should be taken at first 
to select a pot of sufficient size. 
The soil should be a rich and friable loam, mixed with 
one-third well-rotted and thoroughly diied stable-dung, 
broken into small lumps, to which should be added 
pieces of old mortar, to secure a good and sufficient 
drainage until the pot becomes filled with roots. When 
the plant has finished its growth for the season, water 
should be gradually withheld; but it is by no means 
necessary to keep it so dry as to cause its succulent 
stems to shrivel. It should be placed during winter 
where it can have the full influence of the sun; the top 
of the trellis should be about eighteen inches from the 
glass. As the spring advances, the old and well-matured 
stems acquire a purple tinge, the color being more in¬ 
tense about those parts where the flower-buds develop 
themselves. About the middle of May small fissures 
will be observed on the upper part of the stems, from 
which protrude what at first appear to be small balls of 
coarse, white hair, but in which is inclosed the rudi¬ 
ment of the flower; the enlargement of these balls goes 
on very slowly, becoming gradually more lengthened 
until they assume a conical shape. At this period the 
plant should receive a generous treatment; a more lib¬ 
eral supply of water may be given, with occasional ap¬ 
plications of liquid manure. The foot-stalk of the flower 
will now grow rapidly until it attains the length of from 
seven to nine inches, when it will appear as if covered 
with scales, bristled all over with hairs. From the mid¬ 
dle to the latter end of June the first flowers generally 
expand, but much depends on the previous brilliancy of 
the weather. The flower usually begins to open about 
five p.m., but in dull weather it may be as late as eight 
or nine o’clock. It is an object of interest to the curi¬ 
ous to watch the progress of the expansion of the flower. 
The calyx or outer segments may be seen to move with 
a start or spring, now one, then another, until they are 
free from each other; they afterward expand impercept¬ 
ibly, each segment standing apart and their points 
slightly recurved, forming a circle from eight to ten 
inches in diameter. In the meantime the petals slowly 
expand, and are disposed in the shape of a bell at the 
tops; but they gradually lessen downwards like a fun¬ 
nel, at the bottom of which is inserted the numerous 
stamens. These are beautifully arranged around the 
corolla, but the greater part lie on the under petals and 
surrounding the pistils. The time from the commence¬ 
ment to the full expansion of the blossom is from an 
hour and a half to two hours. The appearance of the 
flower is peculiar and grand; the numerous narrow seg¬ 
ments of the calyx, which are yellow inside, appear like 
rays surrounding the corolla, which is itself a pure and 
delicate white, changing to green toward the bottom of 
the tube. It possesses a perfume which will fiJ 1 the whole 
house in which it may be grown. The plant, after the 
flowering Season is over, should have a short period of 
rest to recover its exhausted energies, and should 
afterward be stimulated with a moist and high tem¬ 
perature to promote its growth, and to fill its sap- 
vessels with nutritious sap, to be elaborated in due 
time for the production of its splendid flowers.— Gar¬ 
dener's Record. 
PLANT AND SEED GROWERS. 
Part III. 
HIRAM SIBLEY & CO., RCCHESTER, N. Y., AND CHICAGO, ILL. 
The history of seed growing does not record an capital end and [carried it on, in the magnitude in 
instance where any individual has commenced at the which tlie'above firm’is doing. In.writing these notices, 
