APPENDIX.
The Cacteæ have not hitherto obtained in this country that attention which is paid to them on the continent, where certainly a greater number of fine specimens are to be found of this interesting genus than is to be seen in our collections.
Mr. Hitchen of Norwich devoted much attention to their cultivation, and certainly had formed the best collection at that time in England. Being under the necessity of breaking up his establishment, he disposed of his Cacteæ and other succulent plants to Mr. Mackie, Nurseryman, of Norwich, from whom the Duke of Bedford purchased a considerable number in the spring of 1834. Since that period His Grace's collection has been increased by the liberality of several continental collectors during my tour; and I feel it but justice more particularly to mention M. Otto, of Berlin, who contributed many valuable species, and M. Lehmann, of Dresden, from whom I have also received about two hundred. M. Seitz of Munich, M. Bosch of Stuttgard, Mr. Booth, of Flottbeck Nursery, Hamburgh, and Professor Lehmann, as well as the Curators of the Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin College Botanic Gardens, have added greatly to the collection; and with some recent acquisitions from Mr. Tweedie, of Buenos Ayres, obtained through the intervention of Lord Edward Russell, have now rendered this collection superior to any one existing in this country, and little inferior to any on the continent.
The cultivation of the Cacteæ possesses considerable advantage over most of the hothouse plants, requiring little room, a matter in general of considerable importance where space is necessarily limited. They will also flourish and flower in a lower temperature than most other hothouse plants: most of the species will not require to be kept in a higher degree of heat than from 45° to 50°; some of the South American species, however, succeed best in a higher temperature. They should be kept rather in a dry state, and water used but sparingly, as these plants are very impatient of wet. The houses most suitable for the cultivation of this singular tribe should be so glazed as to effectually exclude the intrusion of water. In the extensive range of plant-houses now erecting at Woburn Abbey, one is intended to be exclusively devoted to the cultivation of Cacteæ. The soil most suitable for their growth is a mixture of sandy-peat, leaf-mould and lime rubbish, well incorporated together.
The annexed List enumerates the different species now in cultivation at Woburn Abbey.
ICOSANDRIA MONOGYNIA.