The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933, 1909-04-08

While the plant creations of Luth-
or burbank have made his name
bonsehold word throughout the
,vorld. very few even of the residents
~ his adopted State know anything
n the Wizards personality. lie
has no time for the limelight, even
a he had the taste, and, as he tells
Won. he can talk more readily to his
eoWers than to an audience Of peo-
Mo on rare occasions, however,
rben he energies from his picketed
ground for little journey in the
world. to attend a florists conven-
tion or what not, he can be persuad-
Cd TO address a sympathetic company
on the subject to which his life is de-
voted-the improvement of plants.
oYou can do anything you like with
plant if you have time enough" he
observed as a picture of his thorn
less cactus patch at Santa Rosa came
10 view. Twelve years ago I became
impressed with the possibilities of
the opuntia cactus, or prickly pear
as a forage plant If only the sp!nes
and the bristles could be done away
with. There exist in nature certain
Of the cactus tribe which are thorn
less but none of these are Of sufH-
cient size or are rapid enough grow
ers to be of practical value to the
stock raiser had specimens of
opuntias sent to me from all over
the world. and by selection and cross
ing. raising year after year thousands
Of new seedlings, only to be grubbed
10 as unavailing, I at last was re-
warded in creating a variety absolute
" without spines or bristles. The
original plant from a seed has grown
in three years to q height Of six
feet and is six and one-half feet in
diameter
~ have half a dozen other spine-
less varieties, and they were all put
on the market for the first time last
summer, although some dishonest
dealers both here and in Europe have
been Offering so-called spineless cac- !
tus for a couple Of years. The thorn
less varieties cannot be raised from |
seed, but are propagated only from |
cuttings, which must first be wilted |
IN the sun for a week or two before |
they will grow. After that they will !
root anywhere any end up-even in |
roar overcoat pocket or on the floor ,
back Of the stove"
A single leaf of the best variety of |
the thornless cactus-the Santa Rosa |
was sold for $1,000 to John NJ. |
Rutland, of Melbourne, Australia,
with the right to sell in the South !
ern Hemisphere; and one leaf of an
other variety was disposed of to the
same Australian hortculturist for
$500
But the forage proposition" con-
tinued Mr.. Burbank, lis by no means
all there is to cactus culture. The
fruits have wonderful possibilities.
Many Of my helpers prefer pear to
aprlcots or peaches, and I myself find
It delicious. There is great variety
In the taste of the different sorts,
and my ambition now is to produce
type that will bear distinct vari-
e,.'e Of cactus fruit, tine same as diff
ieTent varieties of apples are char
acterized by different flavors.
Changing the subject now to flow
eTs, the famous eschscholtzia, or Cal
Norma poppy, used to be known only
as a yellow flower, but now the for
Sis will sell you a crimson variety.
This was six or seven years in the
making. I have often noticed indi-
Nduals with a bronzy tint on the out
side Of the petals; but one day l
came across one that had a streak of
red inside the cup. l saved its seed,
and by the process of selection. finally
got good crimson. It takes five or
Blk generations to fix any new variety.
Speaking of peoples, was once
surprised to get new red garden
POPPY as the result OF a cross be-
Ween two white varieties, the COM