There are a number of good garden phyllocactuses, mostly artificial varieties, aside from those described by Professor Bailey in the August issue, p. 448 : albus superbus, white and fragrant ; alexandrina, violet; aurantiacus, orange ; caulor-rhizus, white, with pale green sepals; Conway's Giant, scarlet; Cooperi, yellow ; Franzi, reddish purple ; Haa-gel|, salmon; ignescens, lustrous scarlet; Jenkinsoni, crimson ; Pfersdorffi, white and yellow; stenopetalus, salmon and white, and the fragrant yellowish Wrayi. Two new sorts, Brilliant and Exquisite, were exhibited by the Messrs. Veitch at a recent meeting of the Royal Botanical Society, of England, and were awarded certificates, a fact which goes to show that hybridizers have in these plants something which can be turned to good account. The flowers are easily pollinated, and produce and ripen seeds readily. Fig. x (page 537) shows a good hybrid phyllocactus.

The phyllocactus will succeed admirably in a sunny greenhouse or window, but care must be taken to keep frost at a safe distance. Although these positions are desirable, they are by no means necessary, for by placing the plants in a dry airy cellar they may be kept in perfect health throughout the winter. The development of new branches usually succeeds the flowering period, but occasionally these phenomena proceed contemporaneously. To pot the plants (should that operation be necessary) to the greatest advantage, the work should be done immediately after the flowering stage, and even if they have made a little growth in the meantime, the operation has no hurtful result when performed with ordinary care. Where it is desirable to make large specimens of small ones in the shortest possible space of time, the most satisfactory results will be obtained by potting every year, but pot-bound plants flower much more freely than those that are treated in this manner. Good drainage is strictly essential, as the plants like a free supply of water when growing actively, but are quick to resent anything in the way of stagnant moisture. Rich loam, peat, decomposed manure, and sand, in equal parts, make a highly satisfactory mixture for potting.

Occasional applications of liquid manure, during the season of growth will be of material aid to specimens which have not been repotted during several successive years. It is very advantageous to keep the plants in a moist, warm atmosphere while growth is in progress, but they thrive very well in the open garden from the middle of June onward through the summer months. Those plants that are kept under glass during the growing period should always be placed outside when growth has been completed, in order that the new material may be perfectly ripened by free exposure to air and sunshine for a few weeks. The supply of water must be reduced on the completion of growth, and in winter only sufficient will be required to keep the soil from becoming powdery.

Propagation is readily effected by planting cuttings of the stems in sandy soil, and placing them in a warm position, where they may be kept dry (excepting an occasional slight syringing) until rooted, when they may be potted in a more substantial compost. Thoroughly ripened seeds germinate freely when sown in a sandy mixture and placed in a position which affords moderate warmth. Keep the soil moist until the seedlings appear, and then, until progress seems certain, maintain a slightly drier state.

The fruit of the phyllocactuses is peculiar and well worth seeing. Fig. 2 shows a fruit upon an old branch of Phyliocactus anguliger. - G. H.