hard, ligneous axis, and then pare off the hard epidermis and ribs for about 1 in.  Then take off a slice from the base of the Melocactus, also paring off about 1 in. of the epidermis all round; place the two together, and bind on firmly with strong worsted.  In warm weather, a union should take place in about two months, but it will be safest to allow the ligature to remain till growth commences.  The precaution of paring off the hard skin and ribs is absolutely necessary, as the juicy centre contracts, and the rind, or epidermis, does not.  There would, therefore, be a cavity formed sufficient to prevent all cohesion, be the graft tied on ever so tightly.

Large imported stems should be kept perfectly dry for about a fortnight, and, if they show any signs of rottenness, they should be carefully examined and the bad portions cut away; exposure to the air for a few days will generally cause these pared places to callus over.  At all times, even when the stems appear to be in good health, a sharp look-out should be kept for patches of rottenness in the stem, and especially about its base.

Propagation.—­This is effected by means of seeds, which usually follow quickly after the flowers produced on cultivated specimens.  Multiplication is also possible by means of offsets, which are formed about the base of the stem if the top of a growing plant is cut out.  The thirteen-headed plant mentioned above was the result of the removal of the top of a stem which had developed these lateral growths, and thus formed a family of red-capped stems; this had, however, taken place before the plant was removed from its native home.  As the cap is the most remarkable part of M. communis, the purchase of large imported stems, in preference to young ones raised from seeds, is recommended; for, as the cap does not form till the stem attains a large size, there would be small hope of seedlings reaching the flowering stage during a lifetime.

Species.

M. communis (common); Fig. 54.—­Stem from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in diameter, globose, with from twelve to twenty ridges, and armed with numerous clusters of strong, short spines, the clusters placed closely together.  On the summit of the stem is a cylindrical crown, about 4 in. broad, and varying in height from 5 in. to 12 in.  This cylinder is composed of a thick pad of whitish, cotton-like substance, through and beyond which a great number of bristle-like red spines are developed, the whole being not unlike a bottle-brush.  About the top of this brush-like growth the flowers are produced.  These are small, red, fleshy, and tube-shaped, the calyx and corolla forming a regular flower, as in a Hyacinth.  They are borne at various times in the year, as long as the cap is growing; afterwards the latter falls off; and the stem rots.  We have a cap that was cast by an old plant, and which has stood as an ornament on a shelf in a room for about four years, and is still in perfect condition.  In addition to the name of Turk’s-Cap Cactus this plant is also known as “Englishman’s Head” and “Pope’s Head.”  It is a native of several of the islands of the West Indies, being very abundant in St. Kitt’s Island, where it grows in very dry, barren places, often on bare porous rocks.