st be
accompanied by exposure to bright sunlight, which is not possible in
England during winter, so that the ripening process must begin before
the summer is over.

It is possible to preserve most Cactuses alive by keeping them
constantly growing; but, with very few exceptions, such treatment
prevents the plants from flowering. The following is what is practised
in the gardens where Cactuses are successfully cultivated. For the
genera Cereus, Echinopsis, Echinocactus, Mamillaria, Opuntia, and
Melocactus, a moist tropical house is provided, and in April the plants
are freely watered at the root, and syringed overhead both morning and
afternoon on all bright days. This treatment is continued till the end
of July, when syringing is suspended, and the water supplied to the
roots gradually reduced. By the end of August, the plants are placed in
a large light frame with a south aspect, except the tall-growing kinds,
which are too bulky to remove. In this frame the plants are kept till
the summer is over, and are watered only about once a week should the
sun be very powerful. The lights are removed on all bright sunny days,
but are kept on during wet or dull weather, and at night. Under this
treatment, many of the species assume a reddish appearance, and the
thick fleshy-stemmed kinds generally shrivel somewhat. There is no
occasion for alarm in the coloured and shrivelled appearance of the
plants: on the contrary, it may be hailed as a good sign for flowers.

A common complaint in relation to Cacti as flowering plants is that they
grow all right but rarely or never flower. The explanation of this is
shown by the fact that the plants must be properly ripened and rested
before they can produce flowers. On the approach of cold weather the
plants which were removed to a frame to be ripened should be brought
back into the house for the winter, and kept quite dry at the roots till
the return of spring, when their flowers will be developed either before
or soon after the watering season again commences.

Hitherto we have been dealing with those genera which have thick fleshy
stems; but there still remain the genera Rhipsalis, Epiphyllum, and
Phyllocactus, which are not capable of bearing the long period of
drought advised for the former. The last-mentioned genus should,
however, be kept almost dry at the root during winter, and, if placed in
a light, airy house till the turn of the year, the branches will ripen,
and set their fl