PREFACE 
Growing in all parts of the world especially the warmer sections, are 
plants of a peculiar and varied appearance. They are known under the name 
of Cacti and other Succulents. These plants present an extremely fascinating 
array of shapes, sizes, colors, and methods of growth. In their native habitats 
they exist under adverse conditions for at least a part of the year. Although 
they can stand many extremes especially in regards to aridity they respond 
to care and attention. Their history, struggle for life, and adaptation to 
the most adverse conditions as well as their weird forms and habits and 
beautiful coloring in plants, spines, and flowers make them worthy of more 
than a passing glance. 
What can be more intriguing than to have a collection of these wonder 
plants. In a single collection one can have Echeverias from our great 
Southwest and Mexico: Rebutias and other cacti from the Andes Mountains; 
Sedums from China, Switzerland and the mountains of Asia and the United 
States. From Africa the Euphorbias, Aloes, Crassulas, Stapelias, Gasterias, 
etc., and a wealth of cacti native of our great Southwest and Mexico. 
From the slopes of the Andes to the vast expanse of Brazil. From the 
Jungles of Venezuela up through Central America; Mexico and to our own 
great West have hundreds of varieties been found. 
From the miniature mimicry plants hidden in the rocks in the wilds of 
Africa to the giant cacti forests of Mexico there is an unending variety. 
Flowers rich in color and beautiful in design rivaling the orchids in their 
beauty. In fascinating red and yellows of the Aloes, etc., the vivid pinks 
and reds of the Echeverias and the many colors in the exquisite cacti flowers. 
Truly no end of surprises await the lucky person who chooses this LIV- 
ING hobby. Cacti and other succulents have received much attention in 
recent years. We have been exhibiting them in the Boston Spring Flower 
Show each year since 1932. The enthusiasm with which our exhibits have 
been received has encouraged us to continue our work with them until we 
have the largest quantity and variety of cacti and other succulents in New 
England. 
This is not a new hobby. Collections have been going on in Europe 
over 100 years. Neither is it a temporary or passing hobby. Something 
about these plants attract people and once a person begins to see the multi- 
tude of fascinating and often fantastic varieties, well there just isn’t any 
hope for him, he just becomes a cactus fan. 
We are not attempting to write a book in this preface. Others have 
done a finer job than it would be possible for us to do even if we had the 
space. We refer especially to the two books, “Cacti for the Amateur,” and 
“Succulents for the Amateur,” both described in detail further on in this 
catalog. 
Some things we would like to emphasize are, our plants are growing 
plants. They are acclimated plants. They have plenty of live roots so that 
they can keep right on growing. We grow most of our cacti from seed, a 
few kinds from cuttings. This means that our plants are not scarred up, 
they have all their roots and they are good to look at. 
In writing up the list of plants that follow we have endeavored first of 
all to list only those varieties which we have a reasonable stock of. This 
means that we have at our greenhouses many more varieties in smaller 
amounts. We have made the descriptions plainer by the use of half-tone 
pictures of many of the species. We have made our prices as low as consistant 
with the high quality of our plants. As with anything else, supply and 
demand makes our prices. Just because a plant is listed for 15c does not 
mean that it is not a good plant. Some plants are much easier to start than 
others thereby costing much less to produce. It is very hard to state just 
what sizes the various plants will be. Generally the pot size of these plants 
will be 2 inch to 2% inch. 
F. I. CARTER & SONS. 
Route 38 
Tewksbury, Massachusetts 
