Charlevoix county herald., 1907-10-26

and Australian, the Indian fig or the
Englishman, the Barbary fig of the
Frenchman, the tuna Of the Spanish
American, and the higos chumbos of
the Spaniard is fruit concerning
contradictory opinions, and grades of
appreciation than concerning any
known to us. The plant and it's fruits
are subjected to both praise and
abuse.
While the Mexican prays that there
may be no rain when the plants are
in bloom that the fruit may set well
and produce good crop of tunas, the
legislative assemblies in some of the
Australian colonies pass laws looking
toward their eradication.
While the Australian governments
spend much money to eradicate the
weed" some ranchmen find that it
can be fed to stock with profit.
While the southern Texan was i'm
ploring the government in the early
nineties to conduct Investigations
looking to the eradication Of prickly
pear, shrewd cattlemen and ingenious
machinists were devising means
whereby it could be Invested of it's
Objectionable characteristics at small
expense and turned to a profitable
use.
While the minister of agriculture of
India pronounced against it's use in
unqualified terms, It was found in this
country that it could play profitable
role in both beef and dairy produc-
ton in at least one section of the
United States. While the South Afri-
can is said to revile its presence, the
poorest inhabitants of the Island Of
Sicily are said to largely subsist on
it's fruit for three or four months each
year.
The average American travelling in
Mexico can see no value whatever in
the tremendous stretches of prickly
pear upon the plateau, but the native
peon grows these plants and similar
ones in his orchards and gives them
fully as careful attention as any plants
which he attempts to cultivate.
Enthusiastic magazine writer's
would revolutionize conditions in the
arid region by the establishment of
plantations of prickly pear without
spines, thus converting the most arid
deserts into populous, prosperous
communities. Experience teaches,
however, that the spineless varieties
natural desert conditions; that all Of
the valuable spineless species which
produce either fruit or forage in
economic quantities require consider
able precipitation at some time during
the year; and that economic species
are not known which thrive under a
maximum temperature of less than
ten degrees F. One exception to this
may be noted in the case of opuntia
arborescens of Colorado; but the
amount of stock feed produced by
this species is comparatively small
and its distribution limited
Conservative judgment based upon
observation and experiment, on the
other hand, would pronounce many
species of prickly pear to be decidedly
susceptible to cultivation and highly
productive of both fruit and forage
under proper conditions of tempera-
ture and moisture.
There are in Mexico many varieties
of prickly pear which are found only
in cultivation. This is especially true
Of the spineless forms in general.
Others are native and may or may not
be cultivated. OF the first group the
peon may speak collectively as man
sas or tame forms, but he has names
for all Of the varieties which are
grown in his orchards as we'll as for
the wild ones of the mountains.
To say that any of the forms are
cultivated as we think of cultivation
in this country, however, is a gross
error. They are rarely ever cultivated
Cuttings are put into the ground and
surrounded by fence to protect them
from animal depredations. Aside from
this they get little or no cultivation.