a mat on
the outside of the ball of earth, it is time to shift the plant into a
pot of the next larger size, and so on as the plant requires it. This is
a very important point, and should not be overlooked if strong, healthy
plants are expected.

Fuchsias are especially desirable for training on trellises. They can be
trained over an upright trellis, and have a very pretty effect, but the
best form is that of an umbrella. Secure a strong, vigorous plant, and
allow one shoot to grow upright until about two feet high, then pinch
off the top of the shoot. It will branch out and form a head, each shoot
of which, when sufficiently long, may have a fine thread or hair-wire
attached to the tip, by which to draw it downward; fasten the other end
of the wire or thread to the stem of the plant, and all the shoots will
then be pendent. When each of these branches has attained a length of
eight inches, pinch off the tip, and the whole will form a dense head,
resembling an umbrella in shape, and the graceful flowers pendent from
each shoot will be handsome indeed. Remember to keep the stock clear of
side-shoots, in order to throw the growth into the head.

If properly taken care of, most Fuchsias will bloom the year round, but
some kinds can be especially recommended for winter blooming, among them
are _F. speciosa_, flesh-colored, with scarlet corolla; _F.
serratifolia_, orange-scarlet corolla, greenish sepals; Meteor, deep-red
corolla, light-pink sepals. The following are the finest in every
respect that the market affords: Mrs. Bennett, pink; Sir Cohn Campbell,
double blue; Rose of Castile, single violet; Elm City, double scarlet;
Carl Holt, crimson; Tower of London, double blue; Wave of Life, foliage
yellow, corolla violet; _F. speciosa_, single, flesh-colored, and _F.
fulgens_, long red corolla.

CHAPTER XXV.

CACTUSES.--NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS.--REX BEGONIAS.

For singularity and grotesqueness of form, as well as for the
exceptional conditions under which they grow to the best advantage, no
class of plants is more remarkable than the _Cactaceae_. Of these, about
a thousand species have been described by botanists; nearly all are
indigenous to the New World, though but a small proportion are in
cultivation. Cactuses delight in a dry, barren, sandy soil. They are
naturally children of the desert. It is said by travellers that many of
the species bear edible fruit, resembling somewhat in taste the
gooseberry. So much