Epiphyllums occupy an important place among stove or greenhouse plants, and it would be well-nigh impossible to find a more beautiful object than a full-grown specimen of E. truncatum when covered with its charming pendent blossoms, or one that better deserves the attention which has been lavished upon it and its kindred. There are other more curious and perhaps more interesting forms of cacti, but they are deficient in that combination of beauty and utility which is characteristic of the epiphyllum. Few general collections of exotics would be considered complete without one or more representatives of this elegant genus, and not infrequently one meets with creditable specimens in the hands of thrifty window-gardeners. The plants entail only a small amount of care.

The genus is not an extensive one, mention being made of but three species, viz., E. truncatum, E. Rus-sellianum and E. Allensteini. They are all natives of the locality of the Organ mountains, in Brazil, where they grow parasitically on the trees in the extensive forests of that region. E, truncatum, the type species, is a handsome plant, with green pendulous stems which attain a length of several feet and branch freely. The branches consist of truncate-jointed sections which are compressed, distinctly toothed along the edges, and about two inches long by one inch across." The rich crimson flowers (paler internally) are about three inches long, and have the segments reflexed. (See Fig. 1.) It may be had in bloom any time between the early part of February and the latter end of April. E. Russcllianum differs from E. truncatum in having more slender branches and larger flowers of a lighter shade, the segments of which point forward instead of backward. It flowers in May and June. Recent writers agree in saying that A. Allensteim is merely a variety of E. truncatum, but Mons. Labouret (an important authority on cactaceous plants, and one whose evidence should not be lightly thrown aside) considers it quite distinct, and is of the opinion that several of the other alleged varieties would also prove, after careful comparison, to be entitled to similar distinction.* The flowers of E, Attensteim are of the same form as E truncatum, but they are produced several weeks earlier, and the segments are of a pale pink color, tipped with purple.

The stems, also, are longer and more slender than those of E. truncatum.

There is a large number of minor kinds, hybrids or varieties. Many of these are exceedingly beautiful plants, and the best of them are included in the following selection: amabile, an elegant variety, the white flowers of which are faintly tinged with crimson ; auran-tiacum, large flowers of a brilliant reddish-orange color; bicolor, white and purple; Bridgesi, a fine new sort which produces its rich purple flowers with great freedom; coccine-um, bright scarlet ; ele-gans, red and purple, a superb flower; Gartneri, a magnificent hybrid, the origin of which is unknown (it is doubtless the result of a cross between an epiphyllum and a phyllocactus of some kind, for while it has the stems of the former, the bright scarlet flowers are similar to those of a small-flowered forms of the latter); Guedneyi. another new plant with lovely pure white and deliciously fragrant flowers; magnificum, large white flowers with rose-margined segments; pur-pureum, dark purple: roseum, charming rose, with streaks of deeper red; Ruckerianura, reddish purple and violet; salmoneum, reddish-sal -mon, tinged purple; spectabile, white, purple margined ; tricolor, reddish-purple and white, and violaceum, pure white, edged with purple.

Any of these may be grown successfully as window plants, provided the window is fully exposed to the sun. The room, however, in which such plants are grown must be kept tolerably warm in winter, that is, at a minimum temperature of about forty five degrees Fahrenheit. They will, of course, live in a lower temperature, but satisfactory results are seldom, if ever, obtained where it falls below the given limit. A greenhouse in which the plants may be subjected to a high or low temperature and a moist or dry atmosphere, according to their requirements at the various stages of growth, affords the most favorable conditions for the development of perfect specimens. The growing season succeeds immediately that of flowering, and so it follows that, if the plants require potting and trimming, those operations must receive attention as soon as possible after the flowers are shed. Peat, sand, leaf-mould, and rich loam, in equal parts, form a desirable compost for potting. A position near the glass in a house where a temperature of about seventy degrees and a humid atmosphere can be maintained will now be best for the plants. Use the syringe freely after bright days, and when the plants get started, keep the roots moist until the growth has attained completion.

This usually occurs about the middle of July, after which a lower temperature, dry atmosphere, full exposure to sunshine with free circulation of air, and a somewhat drier state at the roots, will promote that maturity of the new material which is so essential to the production of a good display of flowers. In fall, say about October, it will be necessary to return the plants to a growing temperature and atmosphere, in order to develop the flowers, and it will be found advantageous to curtail the moisture again, when the buds are fully formed.

*Monographic des Cacties. Paris, 1858.

The epiphyllums grow well on their own roots, but they are only suited for cultivation in small pots to be used as an edging in arrangements of larger plants, or for baskets, when so treated. The drooping character of the branches renders them very desirable plants for hanging baskets. The cuttings (consisting of pieces from four to six inches in length, of the branches) strike root freely at any season of the year if they are inserted in sandy soil, placed in a warm house and kept moderately dry. When they are rooted and show signs of commencing growth, they may be potted in the compost already advised. Plants intended for baskets should be allowed to reach a fair size in pots previous to being transferred to the former, and if they are afterwards submitted to the conditions essential to growth, their progress will be all the more satisfactory to the cultivator.

More stately specimens are obtained by grafting on stocks of Cereus speciosissimus, C. colubrinis, Pereskia Bleo, or P. aculeata. The last named plant undoubtedly forms the most serviceable stock. In addition to the ordinary methods of forming standards and pyramids, some growers train the stock to a rafter, and having reached the desired height, it is then pruned and induced to break simultaneously at a series of points along its entire length. Scions are inserted in the branches thus obtained, and in a remarkably short time the rafter supports an extensive mass of epiphyl-lums, which, in such a position, yield flowers in unusual abundance.

Seeds are employed for propagation only when it is desirable to obtain new hybrids or varieties.

C. McMullan.