e sent to the Duke of Bedford's garden, at Woburn,
in 1839. These two species are the only ones now recognised by
botanists, all the other cultivated kinds being either varieties of, or
crosses raised from, them. The character by which Epiphyllums are
distinguished from other Cactuses, is their flattened, long, slender
branches, which are formed of succulent, green, leaf-like branchlets,
growing out of the ends of each other, to a length of from 3 ft. to 4 ft.
As in the majority of Cactuses, the stems of Epiphyllum become woody and
almost cylindrical with age, the axes of the branchlets swell out, and
the edges either disappear or remain attached, like a pair of wings.

Cultivation.--Epiphyllums require the temperature of an intermediate
house in winter, whilst, in summer, any position where they can be kept
a little close and moist, and be shaded from bright sunshine, will suit
them. Remembering that their habit, when wild, is to grow upon the
trunks of trees, where they would be afforded considerable shade by the
overhanging branches, we cannot be wrong in shading them from direct
sunshine during summer. Some growers recommend placing these plants in a
hot, dry house; but we have never seen good specimens cultivated under
such conditions. All through the summer months, the plants should be
syringed both morning and evening; but by the end of August they will
have completed their growth, and should, therefore, be gradually exposed
to sunshine and air.

It is advisable to discontinue the use of the syringe from September
till the return of spring, but the plants should always be kept supplied
with a little moisture at the root and in the air about them during the
winter months. In this respect, these plants and the Rhipsalis are
exceptions among Cactuses, as all the others are safest when kept dry
during the cold, dull weather between September and April. The soil most
suitable for them is a mixture of peat, loam, and sand, unless a light
and fibrous loam be obtainable, which is, perhaps, the best of all soils
for these plants, requiring only the addition of a little rotted manure
or leaf-mould, silver sand, and some small brick rubble. The Pereskia
stock is not a stout-rooted plant, and does not, therefore, require much
root-room, although, by putting in plenty of broken crocks as drainage,
the soil space in the pots may be reduced to what is considered
sufficient for the plant. If small pots are used, the head of the