Arizona republican., 1911-09-25

slabs, are often mistaken for big thorns by those who are not familiar with the growth and habits of the plant But the Opuntias had yet to meet another enemy. Desert animals were hungry for their rich stores of nutriment and water, so rudimentary leaves were replaced by the awful needlelik thOrns placed at just the right angles for the best defense, and at the base of these-partially em- bedded in the stems (now leaves)- are numerous bundles of smaller nee dies, more than ten thousand to each leaf, and these are even more dan gerous than the larger needles, often producing great pain, inflammation, and at last death, to animals who were pressed by starvation to consume them, for food
 Some fifteen years ago, while test ing the availability of a great num- Der of proposed forage plants from the great arid regions of the world with a view to the improvement of the most promising, l was greatly impressed with the apparent possibil- tiles in this line among the Opuntias. which, from their well-knOwn Vigor and rapidity of growth, easy multi plication and universal adaptability to conditions of drouth, flood, heat, cold, rich or arid soil, place them as d class far ahead of all other mem bers of the great cactus family both as forage plants and for their most
 
 fruits. which are produced abundant ly and without fail each season. These fruits which are borne on the different species and varieties, vary in size from that of a small peanut to the size of a very large banana. and in colors of crimson, scarlet orange, yellow and white, and also shaded in various colOrs like apples, pears. peaches and pums, and with more various attractive flavors than are found in most other fruits, ex- cept the apple and the pear. the pro duct of a single plant being often from fifty to two hundred pounds per annum some bearing one crop. others two or more each season like the figs, the first or main crop ripening as the second comes into bloom on the same plants. Even the fruit of the half thorny and thorny varieties have been the principal source of food for millions of human beings in Mexico. and other lands for about three months in the year
 The Opuntias, from root to tip. are practically all food and drink, and are greatly relished by all herb lVorous animals from a canary bird to an elephant, and for this very reason have had to be on the defen- siVe, and perhaps nowhere in the whole vegetable kingdom have such elaborate preparations been made. The punishment inflicted is immedi- ate, the pain severe and lasting, often ending in death, so that all living things have learned to avoid the Opuntias as they do rattlesnakes. and notwithstanding their most delicious and nourishing fruit produced unfail- ingly in greatest abundance have never before been systematically i'm proved by the agriculturist and horti- culturist as their merits deserve.
 By the collectors and others. for my earliest experiments in this work. the best Opuntias from all sections of Mexico, from Central and South America, and from North and South Africa, Australia, Japan, Hawaiian and South Sea islands were secured. Many so-called thornless or partly thornless ones were obtained All these were grown, and their agricuI- tural and horticultural values studied and compared with great care"