Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/224

206 send their roots deep and far in search of food. But whatever may be the position of cactuses and their kindred at home, it is certain that all of them that are worth cultivating are worth cultivating well, and the three requisites to success are a rather rich, and substantial, and very gritty soil, abundance of water in the growing season, and the utmost possible amount of light the whole year round. Without exception they should be comparatively dry during winter, and the colder the house the more careful must the cultivator be to prevent injury by damp; but the tender kinds should be rather warm all winter and never quite dry, for when they appear to be quite dormant the flower buds and the next growth are quickly advancing in readiness for rapid development when the stimulus of solar light becomes sufficient. The capability of bearing any amount of sunlight renders these plants admirably adapted for the possessors of those little glass boxes which, in town houses, are called “conservatories,” for, unfit as these structures usually are for plant growing, they answer admirably for sheltering succulent and hard leaved plants of small size on account of their dryness and strong light. The wonderful variety, both of form and colour, that may be ensured in a collection of succulents costing almost nothing in the first instance, and the very small space occupied by them if judiciously selected, are additional reasons in favour of their adoption by amateurs who value a bit of glass more highly than to waste it on ephemeral plants that can only be properly grown in comparatively large and well appointed plant houses.

.&mdash;This genus comprises some of our most useful decorative plants. E. metallica, E. secunda, and E. secunda glauca are well known as the most useful of the older kinds. E. sanguinea has acquired considerable repute as a bedder, but it makes a charming pot plant, and its deep red foliage presents a remarkable contrast to the others. E. retusa can fairly claim a place with the best spring-flowering plants we have; unlike either of those named above, it has a bushy yet compact habit, and flowers most profusely throughout the spring months. When it is desired to increase the stock of this species, the side-shoots, if taken off" below where the wood has become moderately hard, immediately the plants go out of flower, will quickly strike and make flowering specimens of