Cactus Culture For Amateurs

AGAT

ase of Epiphyllums, when it offers a means of speedily forming large and shapely specimens. From seeds the plants are generally freer in growth than when cuttings are used, although the seedlings are longer in growing into flowering specimens than larg

nd then filled up with finely sifted loam and sand, three parts of the former to one of the latter, and pressed down moderately firm, will be found to answer. If the soil be moist at the time of sowing the seeds, it will not be necessary to water it for a day or two. The seeds should be scattered thinly over the surface of the soil, and then covered with about 1/8 in. of soil. Over this, a pane of glass may be placed, and should remain till the seedlings ap

EEDLINGS

onths after germination. c, Three months

e find in the seedlings of ordinary garden plants. The form of the seedling of a species of Cereus is shown at Fig. 4, and its transition from a small globule-like mass of flesh to the spine-clothed stem, which characterises this genus, is also represented. At a we see the young plant after it has emerged from the seed, the outer shell of which was attached to one of the sides of the aperture at the top till about a week before the drawing was made. At b, the further swelling and opening out, as it were, of what, in botanical lang

F OPUNTIA, SHOWING

having passed into that part of the young seedling which was to be permanent. The seedlings of these two genera serve as an illustration of the process of germination from seed of all the Cactuses; and it must be evident that there is much that is singular and full of interest in raising these plants from seeds. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to be handled, they may be planted

e than at any other time. Some of the kinds have their floral organs so arranged as to be capable of self-fertilisation; still, it is always as well to give them some assistance. The night-flowering species must, of course, be fertilised either at night or very early in the morning. By using the pollen from one kind for dusting on to the stigma of another, hybrids may be obtained, and it is owing to the readiness with which the plants of this family cross with each other, that so many hybrids and forms of the genera Epiphyllum and Phyllocactus ha

as it often happens that just below the point where the stem was severed, lateral buds are developed, and these, when grown into branches, are removed and used as cuttings. Large Opuntias are treated in the same way, with the almost invariable result that even the largest branches root freely, and are in no way injured by what appears to be exceedingly rough treatment. Large cuttings striking root so freely, it must follow that small cuttings will likewise soon form roots, and, so far as our experience-which consists of some years with a very large collection of Cactuses-goes, there is not one species in cultivation which may not be easily multiplied by means of cuttings. The nature of a Cactus stem is so very different from the stems of most other plants, that no com

ied with food by the more robust and active nature of the roots of the plant upon which they are grafted. Grafting is also adopted for some of the Cactuses to add to the grotesqueness of their appearance; a spherical Echinocactus or Mamillaria being united to the columnar stem of another kind, so as to produce the appearance of a drum stick; or a large round-growing species grafted on to three such stems, which may then be likened to a globe supported upon three columns. As the species and genera unite freely with each other, it is possible to produce, by means of grafting, some very extraordinary-looking plants, and to a lover of the incongruous and "queer," these plants will afford much interest and amusement. Besides the above, we graft Epiphyllums, and the long drooping Cereuses, such as C. flagelliformis, because of their pendent habit, and which, therefore, are seen to better advantage when growing from the tall erect stem of some stouter kind, than if allowed to grow on their own roots. By growing a Pereskia on into a large plant, and then cutting it into any shape desired, we may, by grafting upon its spurs or branches a number of pieces of Epiphyllum, obtain

H EPIPHYLLUM AND CEREUS FL

favourable time for the operation. It is then only necessary, in order to bring about a speedy union, that the parts grafted should be cut so as to fit each other properly, and then bound or in some way fastened together so that they will remain in close contact with each other till a union is effected. A close atmospher

o this the wedge of the graft is inserted, and fastened either by means of a small pin passed through the stem and graft about half-way up the slit, or by binding round them a little worsted or matting, the former being preferred. The worked plants are then placed in a close handlight or propagating frame, having a temperature of about 75 degs., where they are kept moist by sprinkling them daily with water; they must be shaded from bright sunlight.

around it in such a way that, when tied together at the top, they will hold the graft firmly in position. Another method is that of cutting the base of the scion in the form of a round wedge, and then scooping a hole out in the centre of the stock large enough to fit this wedge; the scion is pressed into this, and then secured in the manner above mentioned. To graft one spherical-stemmed kind on to three columnar-stemmed ones, the latter must first be established in one pot and, when ready for grafting, cut at the top into rounded wedges, three holes to correspond being cut into the

AMILLARIA RECURVA

OPUNTIA DECIPIENS

h one another almost as easily as clay under the moulder's hands; whilst even to the