The sun., 1901-07-28
CACTT THRIVE ON NEGLECT.
PLANTS rHAr 0Psx 4 NEW YIELD 1os
TH1 ANATEUD QA1D9N81.


Inas.srshss a.A l.ssrsstans vsnsssss - -
Ossai.s1 % Prices % nsdssass - - Ds
within DsasA q An-WsaAssful Results
0staissA By oraftaas ss1 Hybrsaisiss.
After thelover OF flowers has gone through
the experience OF sowing seeds which don't
come up; Of nursing with infinite pains
plants whose blooms fall wofully short
Of the glories Of the seedsmans catalogue:
Of dsbbung In earths and fertilizers only
to have them prove too rich or too poor.
too porous or too heavy. with the same
result Of failure In the end: Of trying to
protect his treasures from drought or food.
with the certainty Of going to the other
extreme: Of fighting pests from two-inch
caterpnlars to microscopic insects; OF en-
during disappointment In manifold forms
In word. he sometimes meets true friend
who says to him, why not Try oacti'-
and straightway new world Of wonders
and Joys y opened to him.
The cactus 10 the refuge Of the amateur
gardener In distress. II thrives on neglect.
II battered and misused II will even take on
new and wonderful forma II you show II
little kindness 1t 10 wondrously CRATE
full 1t p patient. faithful and unobuusivs.
The only thing you have to avoid u giving
II too much care. being too kind to 1t. 1t
Is the mule Of the flower world. maligned.
feared, despised. but full OF good qualities.
1t u like the street walf In the story book
who is taken into the farmers household
and N time saves his benefactors family
II Ia only within q comparatively recent
time that the wonders Of the cactus have
been generally understood 1t Is only
within the last few years that Its culture
has spread In the marked fashion that
genus has now arisen. being the people
who are proud to describe themselves
a. cactus cranks. How many thousands
there are, only the dealers In cacu can est-
mate; but there are enough Of them TO
support some mighty big business estab-
lishments. They include the extremes
Of little children, women and old men.
besides people between these limits. That
will indicate the varied fascination and
wide possibilities OF cactus culture.
| Formerly collecting cacti was akin TO
| growing conifers. which has been described
as being the one pleasure possible only
to an ancient and wealthy family Then
q few rich amateurs paid large sums for
strange forms which were often brought
| from remote and inaccessible parts OF
| the earth, at q cost that made their pos
session impossible for any but persons
| Of wealth Rarity was then more i'm
portant element than II Is now In the pleas
| IRE Of owning a cactus. curious on account
Of It's shape. its size or its flowers. Now
| adays commercial enterprise has reduced
| the element OF rarity to the same stand
| ard that obtains with other flowers and
| cacti are studied and priced, In some cases.
it would be proper to say loved, for their
| own qualities
| II should not be understood, however,
that all kinds OF cacti may be purchased
nowadays by everybody at moderate prices.
| This Is far from being the case. While In
general. the cost OF a cactus Is req lated
| by its individual merits. such as its beauty
| and perfection OF development, various
species continue TO be scarce and can be
procured only by the expenditure Of much
! money and labor Some OF the difficulties
| Of collecting cacti are thus described by O
firm dealing largely In these plants:
The largest number Of yarities are OBJ
! tanned from Mexico and South America.
and while no doubt In many places they
occur by the thousands, these spots are
| sometimes almost inaccessible and often
30 far remote from railways and roads
that special expeditions have to be sent
\ out 70 travel hundreds OF miles. This and
the enormous incidental charges account
| for the high price OF many OF the rarer
| Mexican sorts. We once sent a collector
| who drove his team and wagon for more
| than 200 miles TO get certain rare PHO
cereus OF which. however, only head cut
| tings were saleable: he laid In q wagon load
in layers, placing stout canvas bags be-
| tween the layers, but by the time he reached
| his destination the constant jarring and
iolting OF his cart had completely disinte-
grated the tissues OF this peculiar plant.
and every one had decayed.
| AT one time we sent collector TO pro-
| for ta n M n N f,It
which we knew could be procured in large
| quantity: but after four days Of travel when
| he came upon the spot he ascertained that
no rain had fallen in this locality for over
| two years and that even the common prickly
pear as well AZ the Living Rock had sue
| cumbed to such an ordeal-slx plants were
the result Of the trip.
| Zone Of our Utah collectors has 10 travel
800 miles by wagon to obtain three OF the
nine varieties indigenous 10 that State
In a general way II will be seen that the
calling Of a cactus hunter may be as full
| OF interest, adv enture and romance az that
Of an orchid hunter. Another example OF
this Ia the story Of an attempt to get a
specimen Of Cereus oiodnteus crisiotd
told in the book already quoted from:
We had q curious experieTo' trying to
secure one Of these fasciated giants which
our collector discovered IN the southwest.
| IL was impossible to transport the whole
plant owing TO its bulk and enormous root
this cerells grows 10 a height Of thirty feot
and morel so we organized force Of hands,
with teams. derrick and paraphernalia.
10 secure the top After many miles Of
travelling and tiresome climbing our col
lectors arrived on the spot, when, 10! they
were too late, Some one else had taken
possession Of the plant and left them in
the lurch A woodpecker had actually
followed out the head and built himself IA
home in il. not knowing what a valuable
prize he had utterly ruined. for the head had
decayed until nothing but q mere shell
remained OF il. We were fortunate. how
ever, to secure the flattened head of another
giant. who probably was monarch OF all
no surveyed for he carried his head forty
feet high"
One fascination Of the cactus for tho
law is that II requires little care Give it
sand, plenty Of sunshine. very little water.
and lot it alone. and IL will cause no worry
to ts owner. In winter II can be left almost
| anywhere about the house with safety,
serving at the same time as an ornament.
Then while il may have a stold expression
and the look Of nothing doing. all the time
il will be keeping up some mighty hard
thinking, and perhaps II may one day burst
out IN flower Of beauty almost indescrib-
able and perfume almost overpowering
That il perhaps the climax Of the triumph
| Of growing a fine cactus; but while some
varieties bloom more easily and frequently
than others, IL IL not always wise 20 bind
ones hopes up in the Towering Of q cactus.
The EXPERT who wrote the book from which
quotations have been made SAYS we