show any signs of rottenness, they should be carefully
examined and the bad portions cut away; exposure to the air for a few
days will generally cause these pared places to callus over. At all
times, even when the stems appear to be in good health, a sharp look-out
should be kept for patches of rottenness in the stem, and especially
about its base.

Propagation.--This is effected by means of seeds, which usually follow
quickly after the flowers produced on cultivated specimens.
Multiplication is also possible by means of offsets, which are formed
about the base of the stem if the top of a growing plant is cut out. The
thirteen-headed plant mentioned above was the result of the removal of
the top of a stem which had developed these lateral growths, and thus
formed a family of red-capped stems; this had, however, taken place
before the plant was removed from its native home. As the cap is the
most remarkable part of M. communis, the purchase of large imported
stems, in preference to young ones raised from seeds, is recommended;
for, as the cap does not form till the stem attains a large size, there
would be small hope of seedlings reaching the flowering stage during a
lifetime.

SPECIES.

M. communis (common); Fig. 54.--Stem from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in diameter,
globose, with from twelve to twenty ridges, and armed with numerous
clusters of strong, short spines, the clusters placed closely together.
On the summit of the stem is a cylindrical crown, about 4 in. broad, and
varying in height from 5 in. to 12 in. This cylinder is composed of a
thick pad of whitish, cotton-like substance, through and beyond which a
great number of bristle-like red spines are developed, the whole being
not unlike a bottle-brush. About the top of this brush-like growth the
flowers are produced. These are small, red, fleshy, and tube-shaped, the
calyx and corolla forming a regular flower, as in a Hyacinth. They are
borne at various times in the year, as long as the cap is growing;
afterwards the latter falls off; and the stem rots. We have a cap that
was cast by an old plant, and which has stood as an ornament on a shelf
in a room for about four years, and is still in perfect condition. In
addition to the name of Turk's-Cap Cactus this plant is also known as
"Englishman's Head" and "Pope's Head." It is a native of several of the
islands of the West Indies, being very abundant in St. Kitt's Island,
where it grows in very dry, barren places, often on