The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-19

the plants in his collection have been
carried over one hundred miles from
where they originally grew.
The cactus is repuls1ve-appear1ng
plant. 1t is covered with sharp spines
which serve as very effective armOr,
and to the tourists who travel through
the Southwest it is a form Of veg
citation whose acquaintance is to be
Stunned rather than courted. The
barren desert is bad enough, but in
! their opinion it is even made worse
by the cactus groWths. This, how
ever, is not strictly true. Instead, the
cactus is a very valuable plant to the
| desert. The various tribes of Indians
of the region have long been fam
iliar with a number of it's uses. The
Mexicans also, and even cattle and
horses, have often found it a good
| friend. It has served as food and
drink for man and beast when no
other source Of supply was at hand;
it's dry stalks have answered for fuel,
and to the Navajo and other Indian
ly used as needles for weaving blan-
kets
! Doctor Kunze, however, was not
satisfied with these uses being the
limit to the value of the cactus fam
lily. He suspected greater value
still, and it was this that led him to
starting his unique farm. And the
doctor surmlsed correctly. In this
ten-year study Of the family he has
found that it is Of immense value in
the science of medicine, and has al
ready listed and established many of
its uses in this direction.
Probably the most interesting plant
in the doctors collection is the hedge
hog cactus-which, by the way, is very
appropriately named. It is covered
completely with ridges of long horns,
and always stands at apparent defense.
Its body is very large, and when the
top is cut off it resembles a large
bottle, inside OF which is watery
p1th which is very 1lour1shing for both
food and drink. 1t grows to enormous
proportions, and one plant is often
sufficient to quench the thirst of ten
OF fifteen men. Horses when thirsty
will often hunt one of these plants
as it grows wild, and by opening it
with kick drink until satisfied.
The Cereus greggii, variety of the
common night looming cereus, is
another interesting cactus. To the
Mexicans it is known as lara matraca,
and by them it is highly valued for
it's medicinal virtues. They use it's
roots to cure headaches and many 9TH
er such Affections. The body Of this
plant very rarely exceeds four feet in
height, and in thickness is usually
about an inch. 1t has a very pretty
llavender-colored flower, which opens
lat dark and remains expanded until
Iabout eight o'clock the next morning.
1t grows an egg-shaped fruit, scarlet
IN color, and usually about an inch
thick by three inches in length.
The largest specimens on this farm
are the saguaros. This plant is really
a cactus tree. It usually grows from
fifteen to forty feet in height, and
occasionally specimen is found that
even exceeds this, while in thickness
1t is about two and one-half feet This
variety is found at it's best when grow
ing wild, within the desert which ex-
tends outward from Phoenix. Being
OF such immense proportions, when
dry it is of great value in this region
as wood, for other timber is very
lscarce. 1t bears large white flower,
which is succeeded by a fruit very
similar in shape to that grown by
the cereus, except that it is longer,
and is yellow in color. This fruit
ripens in July, and it's interior is a
sweet and nourishing food.
Another very valuable variety of
cacti is the pitaja This plant branches
out at the base into two or more
stems which grow to heights of from
~ IL