Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-08-09
THE DETEsTED CACTUS.

06 Wv 10
Its Use n . Forage Crop Ono Of the
Possibilities Of the Future.
Some experiments. which are of the
deepest interest in this section of the
country. have recently been made with
the cactus, and these experiments have
shown that no plant contains greater
nutrition or food value thaa this plant,
which has been. and still generally is,
so thoroughly despised by our farmers.
The pulp, rs all who have any ac-
Qaintance with the cactus well know,
is filed with a heavy glutinous juice.
containing much starch end some
sugar. Experiments made show that
in nutriment the cactus is fully equal
to the turnip. which. as is well-known.
is fav0rite stock feed in England,
where agriculture has reached high
er state of perfection than in any other
country in the world.
The work OF investigating this SUBJ
ject has been in hand at the Berkeley
Experimental Station during the last
few weeks, but the latest report on the
matter comes in letter from q Texas
stockman, who tells his experience in
feeding cactus pads. He says necessity
drove him to his first experiment. He
had been feeding cotton seed, but the
supply ran short and he was compelled
to secure substitute. He adopted the
Aoch1, lon 20, of Tho a, cx,,. a., <1,o< oh
stitute, and found it entirely satisfac-
tory. His plan was to burn off the
thorns and chop the plant into fine
feed. Either plain or mixed with a
small proportion of ground feed. such
as bran or barley. the cattle ate it
eagerly. He adds the information that
in Mexico the cactus has for genera
tons been fed to cattle, sheep and
goats. Machines are now in use in
some parts OF Texas for crushing the
plant into pulp and for burning of
the thorns.
To US this seems to be an important
discovery. The cactus must be recog-
nized as the native plant of the desert.
1t will thrive there on the hardest,
dryest and rockiest soil. A little rain
or no rain at all seems to satisfy it
equally well. 1t is easily propagated.
A single leaf put in the ground this
year becomes lusty plant Of twelve
to twenty pounds weight next year.
Its thorns make it in its natural state
an object to be Stunned by man and
beast, but let it be established, as it
contains nutritive qualities of value.
and mechanical appliances will soon be
invented to rob it of its thorny terrors.
In fact, cultivation alone will soon dis
pose Of that difficulty, for as the forms
of other plants have been changed by
selection and cultivation. so can the
thorns be cultivated out Of the cactus.
The use of the cactus as a forage
crop would be no more wonderful as an
innovation than was the discovery OF
the value and adoption of cotton seed
as feed. During all that period before
the war, when cotton was recognized
as king. and millions of acres were de-
voted to its cultivation. the seed was
accounted as useless. Sometimes some
Of the planters would go to the trouble
of putting it back upon the soil. as
there was vague idea that it pos
sessed more or less value as q fer
tilizer. But it was accounted as gen.
orally useless. and was despised be-
cause it was troublesome to extract it
from the polls. The hope was that in
time variety of cotton could be raised
which would be seedless or nearly
seedless. All this is changed now,
however. The seeds are not now
thrown away. They are saved with
the greatest care. In fact the seed is
reckoned at from twenty to twenty
five per cent. of the total value Of the
crop, and millions of dollars have been
realized from its sale annually. Its
use came in as a revelation to the peo-
pie of the cotton States. Who shall
say that the despised cactus may not
be the subject OF an equal revelation to
tho people of the Southwest?-San
Diego (Cdl.) SIN