The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-09-02
Importance OF PrickIy Pear.

Importance of PrickIy Pear.
Nothing has been more apparent
during the drouth which has re-
Gently been broken in Texas,
than that the priekly pear is
a crop of paramount import
ance A drouth OF six to
eight months has been experienced,
and in some localities in that re-
gion the planting season was so dry
that farmers did not consider it
safe to put seed in the ground. They
waited from week to week for rain
for two or three months, but it is
not necessary to recite conditions,
they are too familiar to all Dur
ing this entire period prickly pear
suffered the least of any crop. When
the drouth was broken, the pear
upon the governmental experiment
tai grounds, both at San Antonio
an Brownsville, had not suffered
at all from the prolonged absence
of rain The native pear as it
grows in the brushy country even
as early as April often showed signs
of drying up and turning chlOrOtic,
but that which was even moderately
cultivated could have withstood an
other three months drouth without
injury
These facts simply mean that the
farmers, dairymen and small stock
men in the pear region have a crop
which can be made to actually pro-
tect them against drOuth and con-
sequent shortage of feed 1t is an
insurance policy against a period of
famine For this purpose alone it
is of mestimable Valae, but crop
that is good in time OF need is also
valuable in time of plenty and can
be made use of regularly, as is be
ing done by a few people nov a
farmer or sman dairyman wi,a a
few acres Of prickly pear we'll cul-
tlvated has = reserve supply of sue
culent rougbage WINCH ne drOuth
which the season is Likely to ever
experience can affect at al unless
the periods of absence of s2ip be
much more severe than they have
been in the past This is POI at all /
likely.
. Leaving ont Of cOnsiderat 0r the (
value OF pear dS q regular crop for /
ordinary seasons, it is considered by +
the writer exceptionally important I
to be grown in small acreages for /
such as that which we
have just passed through A small .
dairyman with five or six acres of 4.
two year old pear well cultivated .
would have sufficient roughage for
thirty head of stock for four months.
Four months feed unimpared by any
drOuth is an insurance against fam
inc such as is not furnished by any
other crop grown in the section.
Provision should be made for
shortage in seasons of plenty. Those
who nave paid, during the past
dr0uth IS or more for hulls should
lose no time in protecting them
selves against the recurrence of such
in the future. The es-
adjustment of a small acreage of
pear is a comparatively simple mat
ter. but there is danger in delay
lest another drOuth occur before
the crop is grown Now while re-
cent experiences of Inconvenience
and loss of money owing to ruinOus
feed prices are fresh in mind is the
time TO make a start by establishing
a small area to begin with, and
more when the crop has proven val
liable and adaptable TO the needs of
The farm 1t viii probably not ~
advisable to plant pear in July or
unless these months have
an exceptional amount OF moisture.
The crop, however, can be estab-
lished at any time of the year very
conveniently It would be better
not to plant during an excessive
drouth
The United States department of
agriculture has issued bulletin No
124, bureau Of plant industry, en-
titled The Prickly Pear as a Farm
Crop which gives results of ex-
periments conducted at San Antonio,
and directions for handling this
crop. Unfortunately this publica-
ton can not be had free at the
present time, but it can be secured
for &c in coin or pOst0fiice order,
from the superintendent of public
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